Mockingjay - rewritten
by JustPlugMeIn
Summary: Following on from Catching fire - re-written What if Katniss did actually fall in love with Peeta? What if they did have the marriage toasting Peeta had announced during his interview? What if Katniss is pregnant? Of course, nothing you recognise is mine; I didn't write the Hunger games trilogy, it all belongs to Suzanne Collins. (May contain words some readers find offensive)
1. Chapter 1

The bracelet around my wrist said I was mentally disorientated which, due to my concussion, was basically true but most of my issues at the moment revolved around Peeta who, since being rescued from the arena, had been unconscious and hooked up to a lot of machines.

Haymitch says that the doctors had to put him into a medically induced coma, whatever that means, but that I should talk to him because he could hear me. This is what I spent most of my time doing, sitting beside Peeta's bed, just talking to him and that's where I am now.

"Hey, Peeta" I whisper, kissing his dry lips, "Gale drilled a hole in your pearl for me; not a big hole and pearl still looks perfect. Prim is going to plait some strands of thread to put through the hole so that I can wear it on my wrist. I think it'll look a damn sight better than my hospital bracelet." I laugh before sobering up a little and sighing. "I miss you" I admit quietly, taking his hand and resting my head on his chest so that I can hear his heart beating. "MJ is getting big, you should see me now, Peeta, I can't see my toes; Prim has to help me put my shoes on. You have two more months to open your eyes" I murmur "I don't want you to miss the birth of our child, I don't want to go through it without you."

I carry on talking to Peeta about nothing in particular really, telling him how Haymitch has been made to give up drinking and is now down in rehabilitation where he'll stay until he's deemed fit to return. I tell him how he'll make a good father and how much our child will look like him. I haven't told him about twelve, I'm going to wait until he's conscious to tell him because I don't know how he's going to take it. His parents and brothers haven't seen since the bombings, they're presumed dead; the same as Madge Undersee and her parents.

"I love you, Peeta" I tell him groggily as I let the beat of his heart lull me to sleep.

When I wake, I'm back in my hospital bed with Haymitch sitting beside me. I'm not surprised to be back here, this often happens when I fall asleep; they don't like me sleeping in that position so they move me back to my room; it was a little disorientating at first but now it had become such a regular occurrence that it didn't bother me anymore. "I ate your pudding" he told me with a smile "but when they saw it was missing, they took my entire dinner away and gave me dry bread instead."

"Serves you right for stealing" I mutter "anyway, I thought you were in rehabilitation" I state, sitting up and accepting the water Haymitch passes to me.

"I was but they sped up the process" his face darkens as if he's remembering something not very pleasant. "Plutarch thought that you'd need me to lean on whilst they work on Peeta."

"Is that why I'm back in here?" I ask "what are they going to do? Are they waking him up?"

Haymitch shakes his head "not yet, Sweetheart, they're taking the breathing tube out to see how he handles breathing on his own. Your sister said that she'd come and let us know when they're done."

"Good" I sigh, leaning back against my pillows and grimacing a little. "Reckon you could shove a pillow behind my back, Haymitch?" I ask "I can't get comfortable and my back aches."

"What do you want me to do?" He asks "conjure one up from thin air?"

I roll my eyes and mutter "forget it, Haymitch, I'll suffer" before rolling on my side, curling up with my back to him. I hear him leave and decide to try and sleep so that I don't have to worry about Peeta but he's back before I can even close my eyes.

"Sit up, Sweetheart" he tells me in a gentle tone and I do because I know that he's trying hard to be nice to me. He'd returned with two fat pillows, one of which he positioned behind my back and the other under my knees. "How's that?" He asks.

"Better, thanks" I reply.

Haymitch nods "I did a lot of reading up about pregnancy before, and during, the games" he tells me. "Asked a lot of questions and did a bit of research."

"Why?" I ask, wondering why he'd bother to do this.

"Cinna was hell bent on keeping the both of you alive which meant that, in the most unfortunate circumstance, Peeta wouldn't be returning. I wanted to help reduce your suffering; I know that it wouldn't have made up for his loss but-"

I place my hand atop his, quietening him "thank you" I say "for the gesture but you do know that I'll be hanging around you more now."

"I hope so" he replies, surprising me "you may be insufferable, Sweetheart, but you've grown on me; both of you have. You're like the children I never had." I'm pretty sure he added the last part to assure me that his intentions were none other than that of a friend or a parent.

"Love you too, Haymitch" I tell him. "I missed you during the games; wished that I could talk to you, have you insult me, just for some normalcy."

He chuckles and shakes his head "the feeling was mutual."

"How's Finnick doing?" I ask. Finnick had been rescued as well, only Johanna and Enobaria had been left behind and picked up by the Capitol. Finnick was on the verge of a breakdown because the Capitol also picked up Annie Cresta, the woman he's in love with, and was holding her prisoner. We didn't know what they were doing to her, she was already mentally tapped from her games. Finnick was worrying that they were torturing her and, if we ever get her back, how she'd be affected by it long term.

"Not good but not terrible" I'm told "his head doctor visits him often; he's not making progress but he's not getting any worse, either. You should visit him."

"I do" I say "but he's always sleeping when I go."

"And" he sighs "Plutarch tells me that Coin is getting frustrated with you."

I scowl at this. Alma Coin is the woman who runs district thirteen; she gave me a week to get over the worst of my injuries before getting Plutarch to talk to me about being their Mockingjay. I'd refused point blank. I wanted Peeta by my side, alive and well, and I wanted Cinna. That was when they'd told me that they had no plans, as of yet, to send a rescue mission to the liberate Cinna and the others; that's when I turned around and walked out of the room.

"Well you can tell Plutarch to tell her to fu-"

"Katniss" Haymitch warns "these people, no matter how annoying they are, have taken us in and given us a home."

"They just want to use me" I retort in annoyance, my hand rubbing my chest as the heart burn begins; a new symptom that only really occurs when I'm stressed or annoyed which, right now, is pretty much all the time. "The mockingjay is the face of the rebellion, they just want me to stand there and look pretty whilst everyone else is doing the work. I want to fight!"

"They're not going to let you fight, Katniss, you're almost eight months pregnant!"

"Then they can let me fight once the baby is here" I tell him "I want to be more useful than just a piece of clay they can mould and shape and use as and when they like!"

"Ok, Sweetheart" he sighs "let's focus on you and the baby and then re-address the mockingjay issue after the birth. Ok?"

"Fine" I say grumpily.

"I'll go get you something for your heartburn" he says before disappearing.

The next time I hear footsteps, I think it's Haymitch returning but it's not. "Katniss!" My little sister says breathlessly

"What?!" Ask, momentarily alarmed by the state of her. "What happened? Is it Peeta?"

"He' breathing just fine on his own" she tells me, climbing onto the bed and hugging me "mother was in there and she told me that his eyes flickered for a moment; the doctors don't want you to know that yet because they think that it was just a reflex and they don't want you to get your hopes up too soon."

" _But_ " I press, knowing that she wouldn't be telling me this if there wasn't hope.

"But his vitals have improved and Mother thinks that it shouldn't be long before they wake him up."

I beam at her, he'd been under sedation for almost a month. "How long, Prim?"

"A week, maybe two" she says "maybe even less; they want to be sure that the worst of his injuries have healed before they wake him up, you know, so he doesn't hurt himself by moving."

She pulls me into an awkward hug, her eyes watering in delight; knowing that her news would make me happy. "That's brilliant" I sigh into her hair. "Hey" I ask, pulling back "have you seen Haymitch? He was supposed to be getting me something for my heartburn."

"Oh yes! Sorry," she hops off the bed and pours me a new cup of water before dropping a tablet into it "he asked me to give it to you; Boggs caught him as he was coming back. Coin wanted to see him." She hands the water to me "drink it slowly" she instructs.

I sip at the medicated water, as instructed, until it's empty and I feel the tablet working. "Do you know why?"

Prim shakes her head "sorry but I'm guessing that it has something to do with you. Do you want me to take you to see Peeta?" She asks.

"Of course" I say, letting her help me out of bed.

Mother and Prim have been so supportive of me, Peeta and the baby; as I'd suspected, Prim had already guessed my situation before Peeta had announced it so it hadn't come as much of a shock to her. She'd told me that our mother had been surprised but not angry and they'd both watched the games along with Gale who, apparently, had been glued to the screen just making sure that I was ok.

When I arrived in District thirteen and in recovery, they were never far away. Mother insisted on being in the room when they checked on the baby, observing intently, not missing a beat; she was the one who'd discovered that there was something wrong before the Doctors, she was the one who ensured that my baby survived. This, of course, brought us closer together. How could I continue to push her away when she saved the life of mine and Peeta's child? She also gave me my Father's wedding ring which I'd slipped onto his finger when I got the chance; I knew that it would be difficult for her to part with but she said that it would be her honour to give it to such a boy as Peeta, seeing how he'd looked after me in the arena and knowing that my father would have approved of him.

Peeta's room looked almost bare; he was down to two machines now, one monitoring his vital signs and the other keeping him hydrated through a drip. They'd also removed a lot of the bandages, he was still a little bruised and cuts were still healing but he looked a lot less scary now that he looked more like himself. I stared at him for a while; my eyes scanning every part of him that I could as I told myself that he now looked as though he could be sleeping rather than someone who could be dying.

Peeta wasn't dying, not any more.

"There you are, Sweetheart" Haymitch says, sounding a little harassed. I'd been in with Peeta for a while; Prim had to go to a class a few hours ago, leaving me alone with him.

"He's going to be ok" I tell our mentor "they're hoping to wake him up in the next couple of weeks."

"That's brilliant news" he says, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Katniss, Coin wants to see you and she says that she's not taking no for an answer. She says, and I quote, 'I will sedate her and get them to wheel her hospital bed up here if I have to'."

"Guess I have no choice then" I sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

The doctors had told me that I can walk short distances unassisted but to use a wheelchair if I want to leave the hospital. There's nothing wrong with my legs, they just want to ensure the safety of my baby and, with my concussion, they don't want me on my feet for too long.

"Good girl, I was worried that you'd make a fuss" Haymitch says as he helps me from the chair, beside Peeta's bed, and into the wheelchair he'd brought in with him and wheels me out of Peeta's room.

"I'd rather go independently rather than be attacked and forced up there" I tell him. "Do you have any idea what she wants?" I didn't need to ask to know what the answer was.

"Yes" he sighs "I told her what you said and she agrees to some extent but she wants to show the districts that you and the baby are alive."

"Can't she do that when the baby is here?"

Haymitch shakes his head "that's what I said but she wants you to still be pregnant; says that will be more of a motivation for the districts, says that it'll show just how strong you are to be able to survive the games with your life and the life of your baby still intact. Apparently a pregnant mockingjay is more appealing than the mockingjay holding a baby. I tried to fight for you, Sweetheart, but she wasn't having any of it."

"It's ok, Haymitch; I'll deal with it." I truly felt like I was on fire right now; was Coin insane or something? Was she never warned not to piss off a heavily pregnant woman, especially a heavily pregnant woman who is classes as mentally disorientated, has no home and is worrying over her husband who lies unconscious in the hospital? She has absolutely no idea what she's dealing with.

"Go easy on her, Sweetheart" Haymitch warns as we greet Boggs, Coin's first in command, by the elevator. "She's clasping as straws right now."

Boggs greets us with a nod of his head before pressing the button that sends the elevator upward. "How are you, soldier Everdeen?" He asks.

"Pissed that I'm not with my husband right now" I tell him shortly.

"Understandable" is all he says before falling silent again.

District Thirteen have decided not to accept mine and Peeta's marriage claim without proof which, of course, we don't have. They have said, however, that when Peeta is awake and up to it they're more than happy to have us married officially but until then I am Katniss Everdeen, the girl who had pre-marital sex.

I snort at this, finding my thought more hilarious than it probably was, causing Haymitch and Boggs to look at me as though I was slowly going insane but it puts a smile on their faces anyway.

"You thinking of how many ways you can kill Snow again?" Haymitch asks as the elevator doors open into a room where Coin, Plutarch and Gale were waiting.

"No" I tell him, eyeing up Gale; I knew that he spends time here, helping Plutarch with plans and stuff, but I didn't know just how much time he was spending with Coin. He'd left that part out. "I'll tell you later, Haymitch."

"Everdeen" Coin smiles at me "it's nice to see you…finally."

"Well you didn't really give me much choice" I tell her before deciding to get straight to the point. "I don't want to be your mockingjay" I say "not whilst I'm still in recovery and due to go into labour in less than two months, not whilst Peeta is still out of it and not whilst Cinna is still in the Capitol. End of conversation."

"And I understand and respect that" she tells me respectfully "but, Katniss, the districts need to know that you're still alive; Plutarch had an idea that, I think, you might be ok with."

"Before we start, Katniss, I want to make sure that you're agreeing one hundred percent to being the mockingjay" Plutarch states, stepping closer to my wheelchair.

"With conditions" I remind him.

"There are more conditions?" I'd been discussing this with Gale and Prim since they first asked me to be their mockingjay; it was actually Prim who told me that I could ask for whatever I wanted and they'd probably give it to me. When I nod he says "what are the rest?"

"That you send out a rescue mission to get the victors and Cinna back from the Capitol and that they are pardoned. You will announce this in front of everyone" I start "that, when I can, Gale and I can go hunting in the woods; we'll bring what we catch back for the kitchens here. I just need to know that I'm not locked in here" I say.

"Anymore?" Coin asks, now a little more apprehensive.

"That my sister gets to keep her cat" Gale had gone back to district twelve, returning with a few things for us, including Prim's vile cat, Buttercup. "And I get to kill Snow."

"I can sort out all but one" she tells me "the last one, however, we'll flip for when the time comes."

I nod; of course I couldn't be the only one harbouring hate for our dear old President Coriolanus Snow. "Great!" Plutarch claps his hands together before turning around and looking for something. "Katniss, you're going to love this" he states, coming back over with a notepad. He flips it open and shows me clothing designs that could only have been drawn by Cinna.

I take the book from him, wanting a closer look. He's drawn me twice, pregnant me and normal me, but the only reason I know it's me is because of my hair. The girl in the book doesn't look much like me but she is what Cinna sees and even what Peeta sees; the comparisons between their drawings are similar. It was beginning to make me feel as though I just have a very low image of myself. I shake that thought away as I continue to look at the scribbles and, at the end of the book, he's written ' _I'm still betting on you, girl on fire._ '

It brings a tear to my eye.

"We have the suits" Plutarch tells me. "Literally, all we want, is to take a couple of pictures of you in the pre-baby costume so that we can show the districts that you and the baby survived. That's all we want, nothing more; is that ok?"

"I guess" I sigh, shutting the notepad and holding it protectively "can I keep this?"

"Not yet, Miss Everdeen" he tells me, looking genuinely sorry "we're still going through it but you can have it once we're done."

"Alright" I say, forcing myself to give the notebook back.

Plutarch smiles "we'll be ready in a couple of days. Thank you, Katniss."

I'm wheeled back to my hospital room by Gale but we don't really speak until he's helped me back into bed. "It'll be nice to go hunting again" Gale says as I direct him where to put my extra pillows before taking the seat beside the bed.

"Won't be for a while yet" I tell him "but it's something to look forward to."

"Thanks for thinking of me" he nods "I thought that you might not be receptive to the idea of us being friends again."

I shake my head at him, not wanting to pander to him because I was still feeling a little raw. "Don't be stupid" I tell him "anyway, how come none of you told me about Cinna's notepad?"

"Apparently he made them promise not to show you until you'd made up your mind. He didn't want to sway you one way or another; he wanted the choice to be yours." He takes my hand and squeezes my fingers "I'll let you get some sleep, Catnip."

The next day I was discharged but allowed to keep my bracelet which meant that I didn't have to stick to the schedule the others have to go by; not that I would anyway, I spend most of my time sitting with Peeta anyway. Finnick had decided to sit in with me; he was sat on the other side of the bed, staring at Peeta, as he tied knots in piece of string. "You got lucky, Katniss" he tells me quietly "most of the people you care about are here."

"I care about you" I tell him "but you're only half here."

This causes him to laugh but he nods "guess that's true; it's just, I look at you and Peeta and wonder how the two of you got so lucky. Don't get me wrong" he adds "getting thrown into the games twice in a row wasn't lucky but surviving the both of them _together_ was. Do you get it?"

I nod; I had no right to even think about complaining how unlucky I've been because Finnick is right. Despite how rough these two years have been, the odds had been in our favour. "I get it" I say "but it'll work out, Finnick, I don't know how yet but it will."

"I just wish she was dead, I wish everyone the Capitol have were dead; better dead than tortured, better dead than returning to nothing." He sighs before getting up, still making his knots, and wanders out of the room.

I look back at Peeta and run my hands through his hair. "Come back to me soon" I plead.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ok, Katniss, just stand in front of the screen and look fierce" Plutarch tells me.

They hadn't picked a good day to do this; I could barely stand up straight because my back was hurting, MJ was throwing another party, I had heart burn radiating to my knees and I hadn't slept for almost forty eight hours.

"Stand up straight!" He orders me, getting annoyed "Five minutes is all I'm asking!" But I couldn't stand up straight without my face contorting in discomfort.

Plutarch was halfway through shouting at me again when Haymitch arrives. It doesn't take him long to work out what's going on before he leaps, headfirst, to my defence. "Do you guys not realise that she's pregnant?" He asks them as he comes over and helps me back into my chair "that, because of her injuries, her body hurts more than it should right now? You should be helping her, not shouting at her. Look at her!" He shouts "she can barely keep her damn eyes open!" He starts wheeling me out. "You're going to have to wait until tomorrow and I'm going to be here to make sure that you're treating her right."

"What took you so long?" I ask drowsily, slumped forward in my chair.

"I was with the boy" he states "your mother wants me to tell you that they're going to try waking him tomorrow _but_ you'll only be allowed in if you're fully rested." Haymitch raises his eyes at me as he says "she knows you've been sneaking around, after lights out, to see him."

I shrug "I wasn't sneaking."

"Either way, you're going to need to get some rest; you're sleepwalking at the moment and that isn't healthy for you or the baby. I've been instructed to sedate you if necessary."

"I'll comply, Haymitch" I sigh as if I had the choice. I was falling asleep in my chair as we walked and I don't remember arriving at my room or climbing into bed.

I dream about the meadow, the one in the song I'd song to Rue; Peeta's weaving flowers into hair whilst I cradle our baby, singing to him. My father's there too, with his arm around my mother's waist and his free hand gripping Prim's as they walk toward us. My family, happy and alive.

When I wake, it takes moment for the happy feeling to fade and, when it does, I'm left with just the memory and a slightly odd numbness feeling in my heart. "Katniss?" I look to my left to see that Prim was sitting quietly, waiting for me to wake. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah" I sigh, unconsciously rubbing my bump "just dreaming the impossible."

"Want to tell me?"

I consider this for a moment before relenting. "It was so beautiful" I say when I'd finished "I wish that it could be true."

Prim sits in silence for a moment before sitting forward "just because it can't happen, doesn't make it true, Katniss. I believe that dreams are there so that we can spend time with those we can't when we're awake. I think that it was dad's way of reminding you that he's still around."

"I wish that he were here" I say "I miss him."

"I miss him too" she whispers before sitting straight again. "Haymitch should be here in a minute with your chair."

"To take me to see, Peeta?" I ask eagerly.

Prim nods "I don't want you to get your hopes up too high. We _think_ it will work but it might not; if he doesn't wake, it just means that his body isn't ready yet and they'll try again in a couple days. Don't get disheartened" she tells me "healing takes time and Peeta needs a lot of time."

"It's almost been two months, how much more time can he need?" I ask, growing impatient.

"Katniss" Prim laughs "you can't put a time limit on it; Peeta went through physical _and_ emotional trauma."

I nod as Haymitch arrives with my chair "ready for the big day, Sweetheart?" He asks, parking it beside Prim "I know that I am; will be nice to have the boy back."

" _Haymitch_ " Prim groans "you _know_ what the doctors said! Stop putting ideas in her head!"

"I know, I know" he rolls his eyes, mussing up her hair playfully "I just have a good feeling about it; our Peeta's a fighter."

Haymitch lifts me from my bed, because I was moving too slow for his liking, and places me in the chair before walking the familiar route to Peeta's room.

When we arrive, we find that the doctors had already started to process; I see my mother standing by, watching, looking a little frazzled. When I look at her, she just rolls her eyes at me. She must have tried to get them to wait but lost the fight.

"They stopped the drug last night" Haymitch told me "giving it twelve hours to work its way out of his system; they're checking for responses."

I watch as a doctor shines a light in Peeta's eyes, prod his feet with pins and stretch his arms out. "Good responses" I hear one of the doctors say "reflexes are normal."

"Vitals are better than they were yesterday" another nods before they all disappear from the room.

"What's going on?" I ask mother.

"Everything's good" she tells me, moving over to Peeta and smoothing his hair. She's taken to him quite well; in fact, I think she now considers herself his parent since his parents never arrived at Thirteen. I know that she's been caring for him more than any of the other nurses. "We just have to wait for him to wake up naturally."

"And how long will that take?"

"Anywhere between now and a couple of days. Have faith, Katniss" she tells me with a smile. She then pats Peeta's hand before following the other doctors from the room.

I walk my chair closer to the bed and take Peeta's hand, planning to camp out here for as long as I have to. I want my face to be the first he sees. "Did Plutarch have anything to say about how you spoke to him yesterday?" I ask Haymitch as I stared at Peeta's face, watching for any sign of movement.

"Yes but he soon shut up when I punched him in the face" came Haymitch's reply.

Haymitch and I sit beside Peeta, just watching him and waiting for any sign of movement but we wait and wait and wait. I silently wonder why Haymitch has stuck around but I don't ask him; I know that he prefers Peeta to me though he had told me that he considers Peeta and I to be the children he'd never had. Funny, I always figured he'd end up with Effie.

The two are as different as day and night but I can see it. If Peeta can end up with someone like me then Haymitch can end up with someone like Effie.

I would stay with Peeta round the clock until he wakes up if I could but they wouldn't allow it. I have to leave him, under Gale's watch, to have my weekly check-up. My mother, Prim and Haymitch always sit in with me for this; Haymitch seems to think that it's his responsibility to fill in for Peeta until he's up and about again.

Plus I think he likes the idea of 'uncle Haymitch'.

"Your baby is slightly smaller than expected but healthy" I'm told "everything is going well, Soldier Everdeen. Are you sure that you don't want to know the sex?"

I nod "I don't want to know before Peeta; I want us to find out together" I tell the doctor who'd been offering to tell me the gender of my baby since I'd first arrived.

District thirteen have all of these posh machines to use on expectant mothers but have no one to use them on since the pandemic which killed a lot of their people and left most of the others infertile. They can see into the womb and display it on the screen so that, once a week, I get to see my baby.

Prim and our mother gush over it every time, even Haymitch softens a little. He'd have been a good dad…if it weren't for the games, the drinking and the foul language.

"I understand" the doctor nods, handing me some tissue to wipe the gloop from my stomach. "Until next week, Soldier."

"Oh, Katniss" Prim sighs, staring at the picture the doctor had just printed out "MJ is going to be so adorable!"

"Only if he looks anything like Peeta!" Haymitch snorts before shutting up the instant my mother glares at him but I'm laughing along with Haymitch so loud that I almost miss Finnick shouting.

"HIS HAND TWITCHED!" I heard Finnick shout from down the hall "KATNISS!" And then he comes barrelling into the room, his robe open and his face flushed from running from Peeta's room to mine. "Gale told me that his hand twitched" he says "he thought that you'd like to know."

"He thought right" I reply, grabbing Haymitch and using him to haul myself out of bed before waddling, as fast as I could, back to Peeta's room.

"You look hilarious, Katniss" Finnick remarks

"So do you Finnick, nice boxers by the way."

Behind me, I see Haymitch catching up with us with my wheel chair. "Katniss, get in" he instructs, stopping just behind me. I get in, glad that he'd followed us, I was worn out already!

Peeta's eyes are still closed, when we reach his room, but Gale's staring intently as his left hand which, as Finnick had said, was twitching on and off; it looked as though he was trying to move his hand but couldn't quite. I immediately take the hand he's trying to move and hold it within both of mine. "Peeta?" I whisper "I'm here, it's Katniss."

"And Gale" Gale says.

"Well if you're going to be like that" Haymitch frowns "you can tell him I'm here and all!"

"Don't forget me!" Finnick chimes in.

"Do your gown up, boy" Haymitch tells Finnick "that's more than I need to see."

"Jealous?" Finnick asks, waggling his eyebrows.

Haymitch raises his and smirks "no." I knew full well what Haymitch's body looks like, from when we were training for the quarter quell and, let's just say that, Finnick would be jealous.

"You've seen mine, now show me yours" Finnick responds, referring to his perfectly chiselled stomach.

"In your dreams, Sweetheart" growls Haymitch.

"Play nice, ladies" Gale smirks "no bitch slapping, if you please."

"I'll bitch slap you if you don't shut up" Haymitch snaps back.

I roll my eyes, turning back to Peeta only to see that his eyes are open and he's smiling from ear to ear. His face is red, I'm guessing from the effort it's taking him not to laugh out loud and interrupt the conversation. "Peeta" I sigh, pressing a hand to his face.

"Hello again" he replies, still grinning. The room falls silent and Peeta says "oh, don't stop on my account; I was rather enjoying the terrible comebacks. Hey, Haymitch" he adds "if you show him yours does that mean I have to show you mine?"

"I don't care if you've been in a coma, boy" Haymitch says, with a small smile playing around his lips "but I'll bitch slap you too if I need to."


	4. Chapter 4

The moment the Doctors realised that Peeta was awake, we were all banished from the room so that they could run tests on him. I didn't want to leave, in fact, I was pretty much adamant that I wasn't going to leave until I was left with no choice.

I woke up an hour later, thoroughly pissed off, with Plutarch staring down at me. "Katniss, finally; I've been waiting ages for you to wake up."

"Well you can blame the doctors for that" I tell him, grimacing as I sit up "what do you want?"

"I came to see if you were ready to try and do the picture again. How about it?"

I sigh and nod figuring that Peeta is going to be off limits for the rest of the day so I may as well do something to try and take my mind off of it. "On one condition, though" I say "that Haymitch is there too."

Plutarch reluctantly agrees but, with Haymitch's instruction, I excel.

"Remember, Sweetheart," he tells me "it's just a picture; this is just to show the districts that you're alive. They're going to take some of you and Peeta as well and-" he stops

"And what?" I ask as he attaches my pin to Cinna's mockingjay suit.

"They want to take a few pictures after the birth; with you, Peeta and the baby." He finally finishes.

"The hell they will!" I explode "they can exploit me and, with his permission, they can exploit Peeta but they are leaving my baby alone!"

"Don't worry, Sweetheart" he sighs "I told them the same thing."

"Are you ready, Katniss?" Plutarch asks from behind the glass.

I look up at him as Haymitch says "just think about how much you hate the Capitol; remember how well you performed during the tribute parade?" I nod "do it just like that. They have Cinna, remember? They're hurting him, think about that."

"I can do that" I murmur already feeling angry.

"Good girl," he smiles, helping me onto the platform. "Head, high, Katniss."

I was stood on the platform for a long time considering that they only wanted 'a few pictures'. Plutarch and Fulvia Cardew, his assistant kept instructing me on my poses. "Hands on your hips, Katniss, yes! That's lovely!" Or "Now hands on your stomach, head down and smiling, if you please. Wonderful, Katniss, just wonderful!"

I wanted to punch the both of them.

Prim came down just as was changing out of the costume, informing us that they'd finished with Peeta and that we could go and see him now if we wanted. Haymitch wheeled me out of the studio without waiting for a dismissal; I think he was getting just as annoyed as I was.

"I wouldn't mind it if she didn't sound so chirpy and fake" he mutters. "All of this la-di-da stuff really rubs me up the wrong way."

"Really?" I ask "she sounds just like Effie, I thought you'd like it."

"Baby or no baby, Sweetheart, I _will_ hurt you if you ever mention her name again."

We hadn't heard what had happened to Effie; we didn't know if she was alive or dead. All we did know was that she wasn't here. "I miss her too, Haymitch" I admit quietly.

He just grunts in response and we spend the rest of the journey to Peeta's room in silence. "Katniss" he smiles when we finally arrive "finally, someone who isn't going to poke me with needles."

"I'd rather go through a load of tests than have any more pictures taken" I say, taking his outstretched hand and smiling when he kisses my wedding ring.

"What were the pictures for?" He asks

"You'll find out soon enough" I reply "they want to take pictures of you as well. I'm assuming you know where we are?" He nods "and what happened to twelve?"

He nods again, quiet for a moment, before asking "my family didn't make it, did they?"

"They never made it here" I mumble "I'm sorry, Peeta." I then dig out the scan pictures from the drawer on his bedside table, I'd been keeping them in here so that I could show him when he finally woke. "Do you want to see our baby?" I ask.

Peeta frowns, looking at me "what? He's here already?"

"No, I've still got about six weeks left" I laugh "thirteen have all of these fancy machines. Look" I hand the pictures over to him "they're in order so you can see MJ getting bigger."

I watch him intently, seeing his face brighten with every picture. "Do they know what he is?"

"Well, they know he's a baby" I say, grinning.

Peeta rolls his eyes "well I know that. I meant if MJ is a he or a she."

"They can find out" I nod "but I didn't want to find out without you."

I start informing him on everything that he'd missed out on; telling him about thirteen and what I knew about it. I also told him about thirteen's opinion of our marriage.

"I know, your mother told me" he says "so I spoke to Coin, she came to visit me before they started running tests, this morning. She told me that all we need to do, to make it official, is to sign some paperwork with a couple of witnesses." He shakes his head, grinning "I'll happily marry you again, Katniss; if that's what it takes for them to accept us as a couple then that's what we'll do. Is that ok with you?"

"How could it not be?" I ask. The only reason we hadn't gone to the justice building was because we were going to have a wedding in the Capitol which meant that the paperwork didn't matter but now that was going to happen, I saw no reason why not to accept Thirteen's offer of marrying us. "I think they've already assigned us a living space. That's what Prim says anyway."

"I…have the paperwork" Peeta admitted. "We have to sign it in front of Coin with a couple of our own witnesses but-"

I laugh. Peeta, despite being completely out of it for two months, is still on the ball. "I don't know how I managed these last few months without, Peeta."

We decide to wait until we're both discharged before signing the certificate; that way, we can go straight to our new living quarters instead of celebrating our second marriage in the hospital.

So, three days later, we sign the certificate in front of Coin, my mother, Prim, Finnick and Haymitch and leave the hospital together.

The living space we've been assigned is on the top level, opposite my mother and Prim. Both rooms are identical; two beds, a set of drawers and a window. The only thing that was different was the small crib set in the corner. "Well, it's not like what we have in victors village but I like it" Peeta says, setting a box of this things, that Gale had collected for him, down on the drawers.

I walk over to the crib and run my fingers along the wood. I'd not thought about baby furniture before now; in twelve, unless you're good at making things, the baby sleeps in a basket or in the bed with the parents. Of course, the basket was preferable as there have been incidents of waking up in the morning with a squashed baby. The mother's would bring them to my mother but there was nothing she could do for them. The cries used to haunt my nightmares.

Inside the crib was two small bundle of clothes; the first pile was nothing spectacular, just government issued like the rest of the clothes but the second pile consisted of much nicer clothes, white mostly, put there was some pale yellows and greens in there; they were all much nice to touch than the government issued ones. There was a note pinned on top.

 _I hope that your little one brings you as much joy as mine did._

 _-Alma Coin_

"Coin gave that to us?" Peeta asks.

"Prim said that she lost her husband and daughter during the pox epidemic" I tell him.

"I heard about that; I bet it's strange knowing that there will be a baby around here again."

I sigh, nodding "to be honest, Peeta, I still think that it's strange that we'll be parents in less than one month."

"And we haven't even discussed baby names" nods Peeta.

"Bet you've thought about it more than I have" I smile at his answering blush.

"I still had hope, Katniss."

"I'm glad that one of us did" I admit before sighing "I need a shower before dinner, want to join me?"


	5. Chapter 5

The names Clay, Emmett and Teddy all were suggested by Peeta. "Teddy?" I say into the darkness "like Teddy Bear?"

"Yeah, I guess; I don't know why but I really like it, it has a ring to it."

"Yeah, it does" I admit, wondering why I really liked that name when I should hate it. "But I don't like the others, like at all. Clay just reminds of Cato and Clove; Emmett…what is that? The sound you make when you sneeze?"

Peeta laughs "I wasn't really thinking about that; I saw the name somewhere, in a book I think, and found that I quite liked it." Prim and I were named after flowers, Peeta and his brothers were named after (or around) bread…maybe we should start our own tradition. I suggest this to Peeta which gets him thinking. "What about mythological things? Haymitch has…or had…some books on mythology; I could ask him if he still has them, see if we can borrow them to have a look through."

"Yeah ok but if he doesn't?"

"Animals? Nature? I don't know; I suppose we need to find a few names that we like and go from there."

"Yeah, ok" I sigh, trying to stifle a yawn but failing "man, I'm tired."

"Let's go to sleep then" Peeta says, cuddling closer, wrapping his arms around my chest because my stomach is too big for him to even attempt it. "I love you, Katniss Mellark"

I smile, dipping my head to kiss his arm "love you too, Peeta."

"You want to name your kid after mythology?" Haymitch asks when we ask him as we sit down to eat breakfast.

"It was an idea we were toying with, yes" Peeta nods.

Haymitch sighs "yeah, I still have the books; I suppose I could lend them to you."

"Thanks, I-" I begin just as the televisions spring to life. I turn to the closest screen and gasp as I see Cinna sitting in a chair, opposite Caesar Flickerman, as though he was being interviewed about the games or something. Cinna looked fine but, at the same time, he didn't. He looked tired, broken and beaten down. But the he still had the spark he always greeted me with and I knew that, as long as the spark was still there, he would be ok. "Cinna" I groan, not listening to the interview; I was just staring at his face, lapping up as much of his features as I could.

"He's alive, Katniss" Peeta reminds me "don't think about anything else; he's alive and we're going to try to get him back."

"But when?" I ask, looking at Peeta "he's been there for months and they haven't gone for him yet."

We didn't see Cinna again until two weeks later; Snow was asking him to talk about the rebellion but all he said was what he would always say. "Don't put down your weapons! don't give up!" and then he warns district thirteen about an imminent attack. The show was cut but not before he's hit around the head, his blood splattering on the floor beside the fallen camera.

Thirteen went into lockdown and the doors, to the safe zone, were shut just minutes before the first bomb hit.

"It'll be ok" Peeta tells me, holding me on our bunk, and stroking my hair.

I didn't like being this deep underground in the best of times but being this deep underground whilst the Capitol rain bombs down on us was like a different kind of nightmare; not worse than the ones I already have but it's close.

Our bunk was opposite my mother's and Prim's; I stared at the both of them, huddled together and rocking. My mother comforting Prim as she have done when our father had died. That's when I felt it, wetness between my legs, seeping through my trousers. "Peeta" I whisper. Of course MJ would choose the most inconvenient time to make an appearance.

"It's ok" he soothes, thinking that I was still scared over the bombs.

"No, Peeta" I try again as a wave of pain runs through my lower back and abdomen. "Peeta!"

My tone was urgent this time and it alarmed him. "What is it?!" He asks, his hands running up and down my legs, still trying to comfort me. That's when he feels the wetness. "Katniss…" he starts "it's ok, you're scared, it's ok."

"Dammit, Peeta!" I curse loudly, causing people in the surrounding bunks to turn and stare at us "I have _not_ wet myself!" I may have experienced a lot of things during this pregnancy but lack of bladder control was not one of them.

"Then what-" and then it dawns on him; I watch his eyes widen in realisation before my calm and rational Peeta Mellark starts to panic. "What do we do? It can't happen here! Katniss!"

"Well don't look at me!" I snap "It's not like there's a button I press to induce labour!"

Haymitch, Prim and my mother were at our bunk. "What's going on?" Haymitch asks.

"I think the baby is coming" I say with a sigh, gripping Peeta's hand as the pain shot through me again.

"Only you, Sweetheart" Haymitch chuckles, looking around at where we were.

"Well, we're going to have to make do with what we have here." My mother says "Prim, I think Coin put an emergency labour kit behind the desk." Prim nods before hurrying away to fetch it. "I need to know when you first started feeling twinges, Katniss."

"This morning" I say, thinking back to earlier on in the day but just disregarding the pains as I always did. I then turn to Peeta and glare at him "I can't believe you thought I'd wet myself!"

"What was I supposed to think?!" He asks "MJ isn't due for another week!"

"The due date is only an estimate" Haymitch tells him, chuckling at our exchange.

"Haymitch, Peeta tells me that you know a thing or two about labour." My mother states

"Well yes, I did some intensive reading on it, but I'm no way qualified to-"

"Tough" she tells him "we're lacking doctors at the moment, you'll have to do."

Prim returns with a bulky bag full of medical supplies for this specific occasion. "What do you want me to do?" She asks our mother.

"Translate" came her reply.

At her answer, I roll my eyes. I'm terrible when it comes to medical talk; Prim usually has to dumb it down for me. Peeta was told to sit up against the back of the bunk so that I could lean against him, whilst my mother ran a few basic tests.

I tried to ignore the fact that Haymitch was helping her; he's the last person I'd want to be observing the birth of my child. At least they'd set up portable screens around my bunk so that no one else could watch but, as time went on, I began to care less and less about Haymitch seeing that part of my anatomy; one, because the pain was becoming unbearable and, two, because he wasn't Haymitch anymore. He was being professional, taking charge, as he had done when Peeta and I had gone to him the first time, back when we didn't know whether or not I was pregnant and needed advice. I guess it was only like Cinna; I could stand, completely naked, before him and not feel embarrassed because he never looked at me in a way that would make me uncomfortable. He remained purely professional and that's what Haymitch was doing now.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Prim asks, trying to distract me from where Haymitch was putting his hands.

"Reed for a boy" I groan "Lyra for a girl." Peeta and I had abandoned the mythological names, finding nothing we particularly liked, and went for musical themed instead.

"I like that" she says as mother says something. "You're ten centimetres dilated" Prim tells me, nodding at our mother "this means that the baby will be here soon; you need to say if you feel the urge to push."

"I've been feeling the urge to push for ages" I tell her angrily.

"Ok, then, when the pain starts again, you need to push" Haymitch tells me.

I huff in annoyance; we'd been at this for a long time. The bombing had stopped hours ago so there was nothing to distract me from how exhausted I felt. "You can do it" Peeta tells me softly, stroking my hair with the hand I wasn't slowly crushing.

Despite the fact that I'd yelled horribly at Peeta for the last couple of hours, he'd been nothing but supportive. Never complaining if I squeezed his hand too hard or if I hurt him when I accidently whacked the back of my head against his chest. He remained calm, despite the fact that he'd panicked to begin with, and was reassuring me the whole time. I knew that he felt useless though, even though he really was helping me, he hated seeing me in pain and this was the kind of pain that couldn't be cured with a hug or a kiss.

"But I'm so tired" I tell him miserably.

"I know, Katniss, but you need to do this and you can sleep when the baby is here. Ok?" I nod mutely as my grip on his hand tightens as the pain starts again.

I do as I'd been instructed and, after what felt like a life time, the pain and the pressure recedes as I hear my baby cry for the first time.

"Well done, Katniss" Peeta kisses my sweaty forehead "I love you, he's beautiful, Katniss. I'm so proud of you!" He gushes.

 _He?_ "MJ is a boy?" I ask, wearily, too tired to sit up.

"Yes" Peeta laughs "looks like we're naming him Reed, unless you've changed your mind?" I shake my head as my mother placed a bundle of towels on my chest, tears falling silently down her cheeks.

I look down at the face of my son; he was covered in blood and white and yellow gunk but he was still perfect, all squashed and screwed up as he protested his new surroundings. "Reed is perfect" I sigh, as I offer him my finger. I watch as he settles down almost immediately, wrapping his tiny fingers around the finger I'd placed in his palm and he stares up at me for a moment before his eyes slowly shut as he falls asleep; I find myself following shortly after.

 **Hey; I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could let me know how I'm doing. I literally feel as though I'm stumbling through it lol. I am trying to guide the story in the same way as the original but, obviously, it's going to take a bit longer.**

 **Also, this is taking longer than Catching fire because I was writing Catching Fire for like two weeks before I decided to post it on here, hence why I was uploading quickly.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

The screens stay up whilst I sleep and for a little while after as Peeta and I try and wrap our heads around being parents. My mother doesn't allow visitors until the next day, after the screens have been removed.

"He looks like a frog" Finnick comments as he cradles Reed; Peeta looking protectively on, ready to jump in if necessary but I felt relaxed with Finnick holding my son. He may be a bit unstable but I could see the concentration on his face; he was trying hard to hold it together so that my son was kept safe. "We have a lot of frogs in four" he states "he definitely looks like this one that was hiding on my boat one time." Then he sees Peeta's face and says "it was an adorable frog…"

"Chill, Peeta" I laugh

"He just compared Reed to a frog!" Peeta splutters, making me laugh even harder.

"An _adorable_ frog" Finnick reminds him, smiling.

"What's so funny?" Gale asks, coming over and sitting beside me on the bed.

"Finnick" I say, shaking my head as I pat my husband's hand. It still overwhelms me how protective he is, it's cute to watch.

"I was just saying that Reed looks like this frog that was hiding on my boat." Finnick tells him.

Gale peers down at Reed's face and laughs "he does a little, yeah."

That's when Peeta explodes "my son does _not_ look like a frog!"

Three days after the bombings stop we are allowed out of the bunker; we had to visit the hospital first so that Reed and I could be checked over and were giving the all clear but, as Peeta and I walk toward our new living space (ours was destroyed in the bombings, it's lucky Prim had the thought to grab the baby clothes otherwise I'd have lost them.), I am slightly awed by how people were now treating me. It seems that, giving birth to Reed in the bunker, has made me seem a lot more human which means that I'm now a lot more likeable and, of course, a lot of people had come over for a cuddle and to coo over the first baby who'd been born in thirteen for almost five years. They were moving out of the way for us, letting Peeta and myself through, being careful not to bump into me whilst I held Reed.

It was nice, weird but nice.

Plutarch came and found me just as we'd settled Reed down in the new crib. "Katniss, there you are; I was hoping to catch you before you'd left the bunker."

"What do you want?" I ask.

Then he catches sight of Reed and his expression changes "when did-"

"First night we were down in the bunker" I say.

"Oh, well, congratulations" he nods "boy or girl?"

"Boy" Peeta says.

"Congratulations again; anyway, Katniss, Coin was hoping that we could borrow you and Finnick for a propo; just to show the districts that the Capitol bombed us but we're ok. Peeta and the baby can come too, would be nice to get a picture of the three of you."

"Where?" I ask, narrowing my eyes

"Outside; don't worry, it's completely safe. The area has been declared non-threatening."

I turn to Peeta who just shrugged. We'd discussed Coin and Plutarch using our son in pictures and propos and decided that one photo, to show the districts, wouldn't hurt. "Only picture of the three of us" I tell him "no more and definitely no propos with him."

"Just the picture" Plutarch nodded "got it; shall we?"

Peeta takes charge of Reed; I know that he trusts Plutarch less than I do so I don't deny him of the task of protecting our son as I know that it'll help him feel a little more comfortable.

We collect Finnick, Haymitch and the film crew before heading right up to the top and out into the open. I look around, there was minimal damage out here, only a few craters. "What's that smell?" Peeta asks, moving to stand beside me.

I sniff and instantly reel back as I recognise it. Roses. The same roses that Snow had sent me.

"What is it?" He asks, moving closer.

"Roses" I gasp, trying hard not to vomit but failing.

The smell of the roses seem to unhinge something in my brain as I remember Finnick telling me why the Capitol had Annie. That's when I realise that I'm the reason Cinna is being tortured in the Capitol and become so hysterical that they have to sedate me.

Haymitch is sitting beside me when I finally open my eyes; he looks a little morose. "They've decided to try and liberate those that are being held captive in the Capitol" he tells me.

"What? Why? When?!"

"Just after they sedated you" he replies "they had to sedate Finnick as well. They've already gone, Katniss."

"Who's _they_ " I ask.

"Boggs, a few of the others and Gale."

I close my eyes. Of course Gale would go. He knows how much Cinna means to me. "Where's Peeta?"

"I told him to go and rest up; he's back in your room with Reed. He'll be back soon."

"Ok" I nod before swinging my legs out of bed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not sitting here, doing nothing, whilst my best friend is out there risking his life; I want to do something. I want to be useful so I'm going to see Coin."

"And do what?" He asks, following me out of my old hospital room.

"I don't know" I admit "but I'm sure that Plutarch has a few tricks up his sleeve. Just make sure he leaves Reed alone."

"It's top of my list, Sweetheart."

"Katniss!" Finnick calls as we pass his room "Wait! Katniss, what's going on? Nobody will tell me anything!" He catches up with us looking desperate.

"They sent a rescue mission out" I tell him, taking his hand, "they're getting Annie, Finnick, and Cinna and Johanna."

"Yeah?" He asks, his blue eyes looking into mine.

I nod "yeah and I'm going to go and see Coin so that I don't feel so damn useless whilst everyone's out fixing the things I broke. You want to come?"

"What are you thinking?" He asks, sounding more interested than Haymitch when he'd asked the question.

"Dunno" I shrug "maybe go and try to do what they wanted us to do before."

Finnick nods "beats sitting around. Let's go."

We find Plutarch, with Coin, in the control room and, when we told them what we wanted, Plutarch was almost skipping. "We're up for trying it again" he said "but is there any chance that we could get Peeta and-"

"No" I snap "they're staying out of it today. You can use Finnick and myself but my husband and son are left alone."

"Not even for a picture?" He asks

I sigh in irritation "you're not going to stop asking me until you get one, are you?"

"The easiest way to get me to leave you alone is to just grant me permission for a picture. It'll show the Capitol that you're happily married and now have family; nothing gives hope more than a new born."

"He's right, Katniss" Finnick says quietly.

"Fine, we can get them on the way."

Peeta looked surprised to see us when I open the door; it looked as though he was about to come and see me in the hospital. "Oh this will do just lovely!" Plutarch says, letting himself into the room and looking around "yes, Katniss, you won't be wearing your mockingjay suit for this picture; we want you to look like a mother, not a rebel. Like a normal person."

Peeta and I were directed to sit on the floor with Reed; they took several pictures of us playing with him, me holding him with Peeta kissing him, Peeta holding him with me kissing him, standing up and having a family hug, on the bed all curled up together and it wasn't until Haymitch snapped at them did they finally decide they had enough material to work with.

"Don't worry, Katniss," Plutarch says "we'll only use one picture for the districts but we can print them out for you if you want."

"Oh" I blink at him, my frustration ebbing at his offer "that would be lovely, thank you."

Peeta came up to the surface with us, thinking that it would be good for Reed to get some fresh air, and watched as we filmed with Cressida and the bugs. When I was done, I went over to Haymitch who was talking to Finnick. "You don't have to" he tells him.

"I know" Finnick nods "but I want to, people should know."

I sit beside Peeta, accepting our son from him, and watch as Finnick spills his deepest, most darkest secrets.

"Peeta" I say quietly as I force myself to look away from Finnick and his tales of the Capitol "I have to go to the Capitol; I have to fight with the others."

He turns to look at me "there's nothing I can say that'll change your mind, is there?" I shake my head "then I'll only agree if I come with you."

"But what about Reed, we can't both leave him!" I say. The truth was that I was still fighting hard to keep Peeta alive and if he comes to the Capitol with me I can't guarantee his safety.

"No, we should both stay with him" Peeta nods "but I know you and I know that you love him but you won't stay and if you won't then neither will I. Your mom and Prim can care for him."

"But, Peeta, if we both go-"

"If we die then we die together" he says shortly "Katniss, if we don't come home to him, your mother will tell him that we died trying to secure a better life for him, for the future generations of Panem. That's not a bad thing to die for, is it?"

I shake my head "I don't want you to come Peeta. I don't want you there with me" though this is truth it is also a lie. I couldn't imagine going into battle without him. It would be like entering the arena alone.

"Tough. If you go then I go. End of conversation, Katniss, no negotiations." He turns back to Finnick and I know better than to press him when he was already upset.

The rescue mission is a success; they managed to bring back Johanna, Annie and Cinna who are all fine, just in poor condition. Cinna was in so much pain that he is being kept sedated so that he can heal without having to suffer any more but he smiled at me when I greeted him and even managed to say "I knew that I was right to bet on you, girl on fire."

That evening, Peeta is still being off with me; he's already in bed, with his back to me, as I put Reed down. I felt bad, no matter how much I loved my Peeta, I always ended up hurting him in some way. "Peeta" I whisper, sitting on the edge of the bed and running my hand up his arm but he just shrugs me off. "Fine" I sigh, getting up and leaving our living space before letting myself in through the door opposite. He could take care of Reed tonight if he wasn't going to talk to me. It was almost like a slap in the face, he often moans that I shut down and don't let him in when I should and now he was doing it to me.

"Katniss?" Prim whispers as I climb into bed beside her "what's wrong?"

"I've upset Peeta" I tell her, done with skirting around the truth "he's not talking to me. Do you mind if I sleep in here?"

"Of course not" she says, shuffling over a bit more to give me a little more space. "Want to talk about it?"

I tell her what I'd told Peeta and explain why I want to go and explain why I didn't want him to go. I try to get her to see why I _should_ be in the Capitol fighting with the others and why Peeta should stay here with Reed but she seems to take Peeta's side.

"You think that he doesn't have a bone to pick with the Capitol?" She asks "you think that it's just you Snow has hurt? Katniss, Snow put you in that arena knowing that you were pregnant with Peeta's child!"

"I know" I sigh "and I don't think that I'm the only one that he's hurt but I feel as though I owe it to people to fight since I was the one who accidentally triggered the rebellion."

"Ok, they're using you as their symbol" my little sister nods "but I think that the rebellion would have happened either way, you were just the flame that ignited the fuse."

"But what use am I if I'm stuck here as some kind of house wife?"

"Katniss," she sighs deeply "you've got to think of someone other than yourself; Peeta needs you and, more importantly, so does Reed. If you don't come back, you think he'll remember you? He's only days old, Katniss."

"So you think that I should stay?"

"No, I think that you should consider all of your options before jumping head first into something this huge."

"But if I do decide to go, you and mother will look after Reed won't you?"

"No, we're going to let him starve" I could almost feel her eyes rolling "of course we'll look after him. Sleep, Katniss. You'll think better when you're properly rested."


	7. Chapter 7

I get up before my mother or Prim are awake but I don't go back to Peeta; it may be selfish but I was feeling a little angry about him shutting me out when I'd done my best to be honest with him. I didn't have to tell him my plan, I could have just gone without telling him but I respected him too much to do that.

Coin is in her office and looks a little startled to see me at this time of the morning. "Good morning, Soldier Everdeen" she greets me, she looks tired and I wondered if she ever sleeps. "How is motherhood suiting you?"

"It's hard" I reply honestly "but I love every minute of it."

The smile that stretches her lips is a sad one and I know why. "Yes" she nods "I remember what it's like; they could drive you to the brink of sanity but you'd still die for them."

"Do you wish you had?" I ask, without thinking, before shaking my head "I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

"No, it's fine." She insists and I almost get the feeling that she wants to talk about it but is never really presented with an opportunity. "When I first lost them, my daughter and my husband, yes, I did want to follow them. The grief was so much that I could barely move but I had to help my people too; my husband and daughter were already gone, there was nothing more I could do for them, so I decided to love them through loving the people of thirteen. I'm not the only person who lost loved ones" she told me "a fact that I had to remind myself whenever the grief was threatening to consume me." Coin picks up a picture from her desk, it's framed in what looks like metal, the photo protected by glass; she hands it to me and I observe a tall, handsome man, who had an arm around Coin's shoulder and, in her arms, was a cute little girl with curly blond hair, bright blue eyes and a beautiful smile.

"She's beautiful" I tell her, handing the photo back carefully so not to break it. "She looks like you."

"She was an even mix of David and myself" she nods "but, yes, she was a very pretty little girl, bright too. She excelled in school but then I was her mother, I'm obviously prejudiced."

"Is" I corrected her "she may be gone but you are still her mother and that will never change."

Coin nods, tears welling in her eyes but she doesn't let them fall. Instead, she changes the subject. "I assume that you have reason for visiting me this early?"

I nod "I'd like to go to the Capitol" I say "I want to fight with the others."

"I'm sorry" she shakes her head "I can't send you; you haven't attended training and, as a new mother, it would be inadvisable. Your body needs time to recover." She eyes my stomach which was flat again; my mother had stated how lucky I was, that most women spend months, even years, trying to get rid of the baby weight and the stomach but for me to drop it almost immediately was very rare and very lucky.

"The doctors cleared me as soon as we left the bunker" I told her "please, let me train, and see what happens from there."

She thinks for a moment before giving a slight nod of her head "fine, with one condition,"

"What?"

"That I get to meet your son" her sad smile returns and I feel bad for her, so bad that I can't even think about saying no even if I'd wanted to, which I didn't.

"Of course. I'll bring him by at some point."

"It's ok, I'll come down during reflection…if that's alright."

"Perfectly fine" I say, neglecting to mention that I didn't really want to be in my living space right now. "Can you add Peeta to the list as well?" She nods in reply.

I get up to leave, thanking her, but before I was out the door she says "you'll both be expected at training beginning of next week, three days from now."

"Thank you" I say again before heading to breakfast.

As I sat alone, I pondered over my tray of grain, milk and bread roll. I hadn't particularly like Coin, there was something about her that put me on edge a little bit but, after seeing her today, I wondered if I'd judged her too quickly or too harshly; I wondered if she was just a woman who was still in pain over the loss of her family and then I wondered what I would have done in her situation. I love Peeta and Reed to death, I love them so much that it hurts; would I carry on or would I just give up? Would I think of a reason to carry on? I'd told Peeta that a life without him wasn't worth living and that I didn't want to live in a world where he no longer existed.

The pang in my heart told me more than I needed to know. I may be strong willed, well, strong enough to survive two arenas, but I wasn't strong enough to live without Peeta. He was my oxygen and, without him, I can barely breathe.

"Hey, Catnip" Gale greets as he sits down beside me with his tray "where's your head?"

"What?" I turn to him.

"You looked miles away" he grinned.

"Oh, no, I was just thinking about things" I say. "How are you after yesterday's mission?"

"Well enough" Gale tells me, digging into his grain "managed to cut my arm on some broken glass but the doctors patched me up. How's he doing?"

"Cinna?" My best friend nods "they're keeping him sedated to ease the healing process but they say that he'll be physically fine in a few weeks."

"And how's little frog face doing?"

I snort into my tray "don't let Peeta hear you calling him that!" My smile fades as I remember that Peeta is still unhappy with me.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Leave it out, Gale" I say harshly.

"Hey, Katniss" he frowns "I wasn't asking out of malice; I'm asking as a friend who might be able to help." I explain the situation and, to my surprise, he softens a little. "God dammit, that boy is so hard to hate! Katniss, he's so damn in love with you it makes _me_ jealous!" He chuckles to himself before sighing "he just wants to keep you safe; you know he's never going to let you go without him, right?"

"I know" I sigh "but I want him here so that _he_ is safe. I think he took it the wrong way when I told him that I didn't want him there."

"Probably" Gale nodded "rejection is not an easy thing to deal with, I'm afraid, no matter how good your intentions."

I nod sadly, wondering how I'll ever face Peeta now before remembering that he has to stick to schedule today whereas I don't. Women, in thirteen, after having a baby are given a couple of weeks to rest up before they are expected to follow their schedules again; of course, until the child is old enough to attend pre-school, the schedules aren't as demanding but, when Reed hits three weeks old, he's expected to go to the nursery so that I'm free to go about my business. I'd secretly been dreading this.

"I'd better get back" I sigh, quickly finishing my breakfast. "See you at lunch?"

"See you at lunch, Catnip" he winks.

I'd missed Gale but he'd been true to his word, after he'd apologised, and it was good to have him back.

When I get back, I find Prim sitting on the bed trying to console Reed who's screaming inconsolably. "He's probably hungry" I say, hurrying over and taking my son from her. I'd woken in the night and fed him silently, without waking Peeta, before returning to Prim.

"Peeta went to breakfast" she told me as I held Reed to my breast; he stops crying and latches immediately.

"Ok" I say, stroking Reed's dark brown hair. He was the perfect combination of the both of us with my dark hair and skin and Peeta's beautiful eyes.

"Have you spoken to him?" She asks. I shake my head "well you should and don't leave it too long else it'll become harder to say what you need to say. I'm going to breakfast, see you later."

"Thanks, Prim" I tell her when she hugs me "I love you."

"Love you too" she says before smiling, kissing Reed, and leaving

Reed was chilled all day; I had to wake him for his next feed, changed his diaper whilst he slept and played with him when he was awake. "What do I tell your daddy?" I ask him as I wait for Peeta to return, he shouldn't be long now…unless he wasn't planning on returning. "How do I help him understand?" Reed just blinks up at me, not that I really expected anything more from him. "He loves you" I coo, kissing his head.

"He loves you too" a voice startled me. I look up to see Peeta leaning in the doorway, watching me. I hadn't even realised he was back, didn't hear the door open. He walks in and blows a raspberry at Reed. "I'm sorry, Katniss" he tells me "I was talking to Gale earlier, he helped me to understand what you'd said to me."

"I wasn't being horrible" I tell him "I just want to protect you."

"And I you" he kisses me "but we fight for him together, Katniss, so that he never has to go through the games like we did."

"Together" I nod before someone knocks on the door. "Oh, that'll be Coin" at Peeta's questioning expression, I say "she wants to meet Reed."


	8. Chapter 8

At the beginning of the following week Peeta and I drop Reed off with Haymitch and head to training. Both of us were set on going to the Capitol which means that the both of us excelled and moved up to the intensive training, with Gale, in no time at all.

Training also took my mind off Cinna, who was still healing in the hospital, but I really wanted to talk to him; the last time I'd seen him properly was when I was in the tube and they made me watch him get beaten up by a few peace keepers but, one month after he arrived, Prim told me that they were bringing him round.

Peeta and I headed to his hospital room, with Reed, to sit with him until he wakes up. Luckily he didn't take as long as Peeta and opened his eyes only an hour after the doctors left the room. "Katniss" he smiles.

"Hey, Cinna; how are you feeling?"

"I've felt better" he admits with a small sigh. He then spots Reed and his smile brightens "and who's this gorgeous boy?"

"Peeta" Peeta says "we've met before, Cinna, and, just so you know, I am no longer available."

Cinna chuckles "thirteen married the two of you then?"

We both nod before I plop Reed onto Cinna's bed, handing him over; I watch as Cinna lifts him up to get a good look, supporting Reed's head with his long, slim, fingers. "He's beautiful, Katniss; I've seen a lot of babies in my life time but none as adorable as this little one. What's his name?"

"Reed" I say before I turn to Peeta and frown at him "Peeta wanted to call him Clay."

"It was a suggestion!" Peeta stresses.

"I was joking" I grin, swiftly kissing his cheek.

Peeta just grunts and turns his attention back to Cinna. "Any news on Portia?" He asks.

Cinna shakes his head "I don't know anything, I'm sorry, Peeta." He then turns to me "the avox, the red heads we had-" he starts, waiting for me to nod in understanding "they didn't make it."

Tears well in my eyes but I just nod. I figured that he hadn't. "Sorry, Katniss" Peeta whispers, pressing his face into my neck. "The male one was one of our peace keepers" Peeta explains to Cinna "Darius, he was one of the nicer ones. Katniss and Haymitch got to know him in the hob."

"I'm sorry" Cinna repeats "their deaths were unnecessary."

"I'm just glad that you're alright" I tell him, leaning over him and kissing his forehead "I missed you, Cinna,"

"Missed you too, Girl of Fire" he smiles "how did you like my Mockingjay suits?"

"Genius" I say, smiling "I loved both of them; of course, I've only worn them a few times. Coin wouldn't put me in harm's way whilst I was still pregnant."

"And rightly so!" Peeta growls, annoyed at the thought of it.

"Well, the baby suit had more than enough protection" Cinna tells us "but it was for decoration, it was never meant to go into battle. They didn't show you till you made the decision yourself, did they?"

I shook my head "no, Plutarch made one hundred percent sure that I was agreeing to being the mockingjay before he showed me."

Cinna nods, satisfied that they'd let me make my own mind up without his designs to push me. Peeta and I stayed with him for a while, watching as he cuddled Reed, cooing over him. "He is adorable" he sighs as he passed Reed back to us. "Make sure you come and visit before you leave for the Capitol" he says.

"Of course" I assure him "see you soon, Cinna. Feel better."

"Well, he looks better" Peeta states as we walk down to dinner.

I nod "he still won't look like himself until he starts wearing his gold eyeliner again though."

Teddy gets passed around at dinner so that Peeta and I can eat whilst other people entertain him. It's nice watching him with Gale though, and I often find myself thinking that he'll make a good father someday. I like watching Haymitch with him as well; it's true that Haymitch is very protective of the boy but I think it's cute. It relaxes me when I start thinking about having to leave him behind so that Peeta and I can go to the Capitol. He is so loved by everyone and, even if Peeta and I don't return, he will want for nothing and his family will remain big and loving.

"It helps me too" Peeta mutters, watching Haymitch and Gale argue over who's had the longest turn holding Reed. "Watching everyone else with him. I don't want to leave him behind but knowing that he'll be looked after by all of our friends, and family, really does help."

"Well, there's still a couple weeks left of training" I say "plenty of time to say goodbye."

But, as it happens, we didn't get a couple of weeks. The next day, we were told to go for testing where we put all of the things we'd learned into action before we went into a simulation. I passed with flying colours and was instructed to go to command where myself, Gale, Finnick, Peeta and a few others were informed that we were on a special mission.

The long and short of it was that we wouldn't be on the frontline; we'd be followed by cameras as we _pretended_ to be fighting. It was a bit of an anti-climax.

We were assured that there would be plenty of action, however, because it was also our job to destroy the pods. The pods are traps, put there by the Capitol, and they can be filled with anything from boiling oil to guns all meant to kill us.

None of us were particularly pleased about this but we didn't complain. Being in the Capitol was far better than twiddling our thumbs in Thirteen.

We weren't due to leave for a couple more weeks so, in that time, we were training hard but we also had a wedding to celebrate.

Finnick and Annie's.

The film crew were there, filming the celebration. I danced with Peeta and Reed, with Prim and my mother and Cinna, who was allowed to come. It was a beautiful evening and, for the first time in a while, I forgot about the months to come and, because of this, I had fun.

Peeta and I spent the remaining time training and with Reed; if I didn't want to go to the Capitol so badly, I would have ditched the training and just spent as much time with my son as I could, Peeta would have as well, but, if we did, I'm sure that Coin would not allow us to go.

"I really hate to leave him" I sigh on our last evening before deployment "he's growing so fast!" Reed, now two months old, was now almost twice the size he had been when he was born. He had the most dazzling smile and was now holding his head up for a little bit.

"I know" Peeta says, dangling an old toy, that had been donated to us from one of the district thirteen residents, over Reed who was laying on his back, trying to grab the object. The toy was colourful, in the shape of a sheep, and it rattled. "I'm trying not to think about it too much but, if all goes well, we'll be back before we know it."

The mission that we were being sent on should last between two weeks to a month, if all goes to plan. Maybe not quite as long as that. I was planning on separating from the group as soon as I could so that I could track Snow down. "Should we get some sleep?" I ask.

Peeta nods, picking Reed up and placing him in his crib. "I want to spend as much time with you as I can" he tells me as we climb into bed "there's no telling how long it will be before we have a bit of privacy."


	9. Chapter 9

We gave Reed to my mother and Prim, along with a list of things Reed will need and the schedule we have him on before heading up to the hospital to say goodbye to Cinna and now we were sat at our base camp in the capitol.

Boggs was looking at the holo, trying to work out what route to take first. "We could take the most direct route to the capitol" he says "but that one has the most pods or we could skirt around the outside; either way, once we get close to the middle, the number of pods triples."

The squad, hungry for action, all decided on taking the most direct route but, even taking this route, was a little boring. Peeta, myself, Finnick and Gale weren't allowed at the front. It was up to Boggs, Jackson and Leeg one and Leeg 2 to wipe the area before I was allowed to take out a pod…from a distance…with my arrows…for the cameras.

We were a week in when I decided to sit down with Peeta, away from the group and tell him about my plan. "Well I knew that you wouldn't stick around for long" he sighs "I'm just surprised that you've told me rather than waiting for me to wake up and find that you've deserted us."

"I wouldn't do that" I say "we're in this together, that's what you said. I want you right by my side when I take Snow out."

He chuckles lowly "alright Katniss, we'll do it your way."

I think back to the games, when I wanted to break away from the alliance but Peeta suggested we wait. We waited and were almost blown to bits but then, that wasn't his fault. "When?" I ask him.

"When the opportunity presents itself."

"You going to leave me behind, Catnip?" Gale asks, I turn and find him standing just feet from us.

I sigh "do I have much of a choice?"

He smirks and shakes his head "the minute I find the both of you gone, I'll alert the entire squad and-"

"Fine, you get to come!" I snap

The next day, however, scuppered our plans of leaving. Whilst on a sweep of the street, Boggs steps back onto an unmarked pod which explodes and sets off two more; one skewered Mitchell as he was caught in a net with barbs and the other set off a wave of, what looked like, tar. Peeta and I grab what's left Boggs' body and run for the closest place of safety. A flat.

The door is slammed shut before the tar wave could get in.

"Katniss" Boggs whispers to me as everyone else is trying to figure things out "the holo."

I pass Boggs the holo and watch as he transfers it over to me before he dies. "Well now what?" I ask Peeta, holding the thing in my hands "I don't know how to use this thing!"

"Katniss, pass me the holo" Jackson instructs, coming over to me "now Boggs is gone I need to transfer it over to myself."

"He transferred it over to me" I tell her.

"What?" She frowns "why would he do that?"

"I'm acting upon different orders" I lie smoothly "from Coin, to assassinate Snow." Jackson stares at me for a moment; she wasn't happy about this. "I don't know how to use it" I tell her "can you show me?"

Jackson sighs in annoyance before snatching it from me and setting it up so that the map, with the blinking pods, were projected. "Still pretty spread out" she says "but these don't include the unmarked ones."

"Either way" Gale says "we need to get moving before the peacekeepers get here."

Everyone is in agreement so we walk for a few blocks before breaking into another abandoned apartment where we stock up on food, rest and lay low for a while.

A few hours later, we hear a chain of explosions before the TV starts up by its self. "It ok!" Cressida tells us as we start to panic "it's mandatory viewing; all of the TVs in the Capitol are set up to do that."

We watch as firefighters surround the building, we had been in just a few hours ago, as they try to control the fire that we hadn't started and then we were all pronounced dead.

"Well, that gives us a head start" I say, turning away from the television "we'd better get going soon before they don't discover our bodies." I allow the others to rest up. We grab some food, eat and shove the rest into our packs. As we were just thinking about leaving, the TV turns back on to show Snow before Beetee flicks a switch and Snow is replaced by Coin who was chatting some crap about how monumental I was to the cause and how I miss be missed but to carry on fighting so that I didn't die in vain. "I had no idea I meant so much to her" I rolled my eyes, throwing my pack onto my back.

"Reed" Peeta whispers, knowing that, because everyone thought we were dead, they'd be making plans for Reed. I wasn't worried, my mother and Prim already promised me that they'd take care of him but, it seems that Coin had other plans. "Katniss" he moans, pointing up at the screen.

I turn to see that the camera has panned out and now shows Coin holding our son as though he were hers. "What the hell?!" I shriek, moving closer to the TV, listening carefully.

"I promised her and Peeta that their son would want for nothing" she says "it is my job to take care of Reed Mellark, the new face of the rebellion for, without his mother, we would never have gotten this far!" Then she's gone and I'm left staring at the blank screen feeling more pissed off than ever.

"Oh the hell she will" I snarl, turning to the others who, if I'm not mistaken, all took a step or two back…as though I was about to explode. "Get up, get your packs on and let's go!" I snap "we're finishing this one way or another!". No one argued.

Behind me, as the bugs discard their bulky camera suits, I hear Finnick sing "someone's gonna get it" under his breath.

I smirk a little at his words as I think 'she is so dead.'

We descend underground through the maintenance tunnel in the middle apartment with Pollux as our guide. By going lower, we were hoping to cover more ground as well as avoid the majority of the pods. We walk for far longer than we should, Peeta and I up the front with Jackson and Gale close behind, before we finally decide to stop in a room filled with pipes and loud machinery.

I volunteer to take the first watch whilst the others rest; it gave me a chance to gather my thoughts as well as look through the holo.

It seemed funny to me that it had always been Snow at the top of my hit list when I should have been focusing more on Coin; true, she things that both Peeta and I are dead, but he should have been given to my mother to look after, Coin shouldn't have taken him away from them. God only knows what she did to them to get him! I'm not worried about him, I know that Coin won't hurt my son; she may exploit him and tear him away from his family but she'd never physically hurt him.

Baby stealing wrench.

I kick a pipe, causing myself more harm than the pipe, before Peeta crawls over to sit with me. "You should be sleeping." I say.

"He's my son too, Katniss; aren't I allowed to be worried?"

"Of course" I say "but there's nothing to worry about. I'm not worried about Reed but I am rather angry at Coin."

Peeta nods "yeah, so am I, but aren't you worried that she's done something to you mom, Prim and Haymitch?"

I shake my head but then think about it and shrug "I'm trying _not_ to think about it plus Cinna should be up and about now, he'll never let anything happen to them. Let's just focus on completing the mission _alive,_ ok?"

"Then we can get our son back and teach Coin a lesson she won't forget" he finishes darkly.

I smirk "couldn't have said it better myself."

Peeta finally succumbs to sleep, leaving me alone again, but not for long.

 _"Katniss"_

It sounds like a hiss, like the way my name would sound on demon tongues.

" _Katniss_ "

I didn't need to hear it a third time before I get everybody up. "They know we're alive" I tell them, rousing them roughly "we need to move!"

The smell hits us only yards from the room we'd just vacated. Roses. Focusing on Coin and my son was all I could do to not lose my head.

We lose Messalla first, caught in a beam of light and then his flesh melts like candle wax. We lose Jackson and Leeg 1 and the meat grinder, they stayed behind to hold the mutts off so that we could get away. Then, just as we find a way that takes us back above ground, we lose Castor and Homes. Finnick is the last up the ladder, after Gale, before I whisper 'nightlock, nightlock, nightlock' to the holo and drop it down where it explodes, showering us in human and mutt remains before Pollux slams a cover over the pipe and locks it.

I place my hand on Pollux's shoulder for a moment before whispering that we should continue.

Through some stroke of luck, we make it to a small clothing shop, just off one of the main streets in the Capitol. The owner, Tigris, used to be a stylist for the games; Cressida assures us that we can trust her and she's right. We're given a good hiding place, in the cellar of the shop, food, warmth and supplies.

We stay there for a few days, until we're well rested, before we decide to start moving again.

"One more night" I say to the others "we'll leave tomorrow."

"Final stretch" Peeta says to me as we curl up under a pile of furs "it'll all be over this time tomorrow."

"I really hope so" I sigh "I think that I've had enough excitement for a life time."

He chuckles, kissing my neck before pulling me into him and wrapping his arms around me.

Tomorrow is where the future begins. Regardless of my success.

 **Sorry if this part sounds really rushed! I didn't want to skip the entire bit so I just skimmed through it. Tomorrow is where the real fun begins!**


	10. Chapter 10

Tigris worked her magic, lending us clothes to cover our army clothes and weapons; she plastered us in makeup and, by the time she was done, we barely recognised each other. We then decided to split up into three groups; Pollux and Cressida, then Peeta and I, then, finally, Finnick and Gale.

It was Finnick and Gale's job, as the two bringing up the rear, to watch mine and Peeta's backs so that we could get to Snow's mansion without any trouble. They must have done their job because we didn't run into any trouble.

"What do we do?" I asked him as we reached the gates and saw that the Peacekeepers were grabbing the children first, putting them into a pen type structure between the people and the mansion.

"I'm not sure" he states, squinting into the pen "but that's disgusting, isn't it? He's built up a barricade of children to protect him."

I grimace and nod. "That's Snow for you, Sweetheart" I say, mimicking Haymitch.

Peeta snorts before he says something that confuses me. "Prim!"

I almost snap my neck turning around to see my sister walking toward us, breaking away from the rest of her group who headed for the pen of children, smiling. "Hey! Katniss!" She runs at me and wraps her arms around my neck "Reed's fine! The moment we found out that you were alive for definite, Haymitch and Cinna stormed her office and took him back. He's with our mother and Coin has a broken nose" she giggles at the memory.

I tighten my arms around her in relief "I missed you, little duck."

"Missed you too," she says "though we never believed you were dead; it would take a lot more than tar to finish you off."

"You have too much faith in me, Prim" I say before explosions break up the conversation.

We whirl back around to see that the pen, filled with the children and the rebel medics who were trying to help, had all but been ignited by bombs. "I should go and help!" Prim says, going to pull away but I keep my grip on her, sensing that something wasn't right. "Katniss, let me go, I've got to help them!"

The cause of the explosions were the little silver balls, sent down by parachutes, like the ones in the games. Not all of them had gone off, however. I could see some of the children, holding them, looking confused at the chaos around them, before the rest of the parachutes went off.

Prim shrieked, her entire body trembling and Peeta and I fought to restrain her. "There's no one left to help!" I yell at her "Prim!" I grab her arms and shake her "Primrose! You are no good to anyone if you're dead!" God only knows if there will be another attack and I couldn't bear to lose my little sister. "Prim, who sent you here? Who sent you with the rest of the medics?" I ask, feeling that it was a little strange that she'd been allowed to come to the Capitol when she wasn't yet eighteen or qualified.

"Coin" she whispered "she thought it would be good for my training to get some field experience."

"Coin?" I moan, pressing my head into her shoulder "Prim, she sent you here to die with the children!"

Prim's eyes widened as she takes in my words. "But she wouldn't…would she?"

"If you hadn't stopped to talk to us, Prim, you'd have exploded in there" Peeta tells her, causing Prim to sag against me.

The Capitol fell almost as quickly as those parachutes and Snow was imprisoned somewhere in the mansion and Coin has accepted the task of running Panem until we have an official vote.

Gale, Finnick, Pollux and Cressida made it safely to the mansion and they, along with myself, Peeta and Prim, were given rooms in the mansion to await the verdict of Snow's trial so I had to stay in the Capitol. Peeta and I also had to wait to see Reed and my mother as Thirteen wouldn't be sending out another hovercraft for another week or so but, as long as we knew that they were safe, even though we were anxious to see our son, Peeta and I didn't mind.

"I hope there's no hard feelings between you and I" Coin says on the second day of my stay, when she'd called me into her office "I thought that Reed would be a good motivator."

I stare at her, wanting to call her every name under the sun, but I held my tongue. Coin wants me dead, she wants to hurt me, so I've got to make it look like I like her to stay off of her kill list. "I understand, of course I do" I tell her "I'm just happy you were prepared to take care of him if the worst did actually happen."

She nods "I'm glad that you see it that way; I was a little worried."

Of course she should have been worried! She should still be worried, I want to kill her! "No cause for worry, Alma" I force myself to smile "you were acting upon the best of intentions."

"Good, anyway, I have a little treat for you." Coin tells me just as the doors to her office opens and in steps none other than Effie Trinket looking just as she always does.

"Effie!" I sigh in relief. Nobody had heard from her, we all thought the worst. "We thought you'd died." I admit, accepting her hug.

"Not me" she smiles "how are you, Katniss?"

"Good," I turn to Coin "am I allowed to go?"

When Coin nods, I pull Effie from the room and towards where Prim, Peeta, Finnick and Gale were. Together, we tell her everything she'd missed out on.

We spent the next week swapping stories, reminiscing and wondering how things will be different from now on until, one day, the doors, of the sitting room, swing open and in marches Haymitch with Reed tucked under his arm.

"Nice to see you alive, Sweetheart" Haymitch greets me as I take Reed from him and hold him close, kissing his head, before embracing Haymitch as well.

"Could say the same" I tell him "thank you for looking out for Reed."

He smiles fondly at my son and just nods as he says "he's family, Sweetheart."

My mother entered the room behind him, I allowed her to embrace me as I whispered the same thanks to her. "Haymitch" I say, pulling away from my mother and letting Peeta hold his son. "Effie's here."

Haymitch's eyes light up for a moment before he nods. "Great, tell her that, if she wants to see me, I'll be getting drunk in the bar room" before he turns on his heel and walks out.

Regardless of Haymitch's reaction, we all knew that there was more to it and, not two days later, I was proven right when I accidentally take a wrong turning to the bathroom and find the two hauled up in a broom closet. I don't even think they noticed me but, still, I shut the door as quietly as I could before leaning up against the wall as I tried to calm myself down from laughing so much.

Finally, the decision made to execute Snow and that particular task was given to me. I stand there, staring at the old man, with one arrow in my quiver, as Coin reads off a list of his crimes.

I hadn't told my Peeta what I'd planned to do. Snow wouldn't be president again which means that I have to sort out the current president. Coin. My arrow, meant for Snow, was going to pierce her. I was going to kill Alma Coin and I didn't tell Peeta because I knew that I'd probably be sentencing myself to death. I look over at him; he looks perfect, as he always does, as he holds our son to him. Peeta smiles at me, offering encouragement, before I position my arrow and let it fly.

It hits my intended mark and Coin falls from her platform, landing on the surface below. Dead and gone.

I don't even have a chance to smile before all hands are on me and I'm being dragged back into mansion. I'm dumped in a familiar room. The room Coin had called all of the remaining victors to vote for another games using the Capitol children. I'd voted yes, to satisfy her.

The fact that she'd even asked the question should have made the alarm bells ring. We didn't need another Snow on our hands.

I'm not alone in there for long.

The door opens and in walks Haymitch, Peeta, Finnick, Enobaria, Johanna, Annie and Beetee. "Well done, Sweetheart" Haymitch says, pushing me into a chair. I couldn't work out if he was being sarcastic or not.

"We knew what you were going to do" Peeta tells me, taking the seat beside me and handing Reed over. I gratefully accept my son, closing my eyes. I never thought that I'd get to hold him again.

"How did you know?" I ask.

"You're not exactly a hard person to read" Johanna says, rolling her eyes. "Snow's dead anyway; choked on his own blood, the idiot. Bit pathetic really."

"So why are we all here again?"

"We're voting for the games again" Haymitch replies "and this time, we want honest answers. Nothing influenced by Coin."

"So wait" I shake my head in confusion "I'm not in trouble?"

"We cleaned up this mess before you'd even made it" he tells me, smirking a little.

"Look" Finnick sighs "Coin was as much of a threat as Snow was; we're better off without her. Now can we get to voting so that we can finally go home?"

This time round, everyone voted no to the games. We weren't like Snow, nor were we like Coin, we don't kill needlessly, especially the innocent. No matter how angry we were at the Capitol and their customs, it was how they were raised. The children were not to blame.

"So we're free?" I ask Haymitch as we walk toward the hovercraft that was going to take us back to twelve. No more games? No more rebellion? We free?

"Yes, Sweetheart" he says, his arm around Effie's shoulder "we're free."

 **Don't worry, I haven't finished it. Just had to get everything done before I can start my own story again. After they've moved back to twelve. Hopefully update a bit more later.**

 **I wonder how different it'll be. Oh the possibilities are endless! ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

When we step foot in twelve again it feels as though a weight has been lifted from our shoulders and, despite the fact that it was still in ruins, it still felt like home.

Peeta, myself, Reed and Haymitch were sent back on the third hovercraft; Mother and Prim had chosen to wait a while, staying in the Capitol, before returning. We walked the familiar route from the square back to the Victors Village which had been left untouched.

"Well" Haymitch sighs, surveying his front door "I'd better make a start on cleaning up my poor excuse of a house."

"Is Effie coming here?" I ask, shifting Reed from one arm to the other. He was barely six months old but the kid weighs a ton.

Haymitch then did something that I've never seen him do before. He blushed as he swept a hand through his hair. "Well, I ask her, but I don't know, erm-"

I laugh at his unease "when is she coming?"

"The same hovercraft as your Mom and sister" he finally says.

I smile warmly at him before turning to Peeta "grab the mop, buckets and cleaning supplies my mother has stored under the stairs" I tell him "then meet me back at Haymitch's." Peeta nods before setting off toward my house.

"What are you doing, Katniss?" Haymitch asks.

"Helping" I say before leading the way to his house and letting myself in.

I strap Reed into a contraption Effie got for me; she says that it's called a push chair, something Capitol parents use to walk their babies around. In all honesty, I much prefer the sarong thing my mother put together for me; it goes around your front, or your back, and holds the baby against your chest, or your back, so that your arms are free to do other things but that wouldn't do for something like this.

Haymitch says that Effie jumped at the chance to move away from the Capitol; she, along with a few others, has completely lost faith in it because of Snow and they don't want to be associated with it anymore. So an invitation to twelve was just what she'd needed. Haymitch, of course, was over the moon, completely terrified, but happy.

It doesn't take us long to get his place in order; a week at the most. We gave everything a damn good clean, top to bottom, and aired the entire place out for the majority of the week. Twelve was still so quiet that we didn't need to worry about shutting doors and windows, not that we did much anyway, but it made it easier to air.

"I'm sure that Effie will add her own touch to the place" Peeta says, completing the entire task by setting a vase of flowers on the dining table.

Haymitch nods, looking around the room. It could be a different house; what once was dark, gloomy, smelly and messy was now bright, airy and clean. The scent of the flowers would soon make the room smell nice. "Yes" he says quietly with a small smile "I'm sure she will."

Peeta claps Haymitch on the back, ginning widely as he says "pop over any time, Haymitch."

"What are you talking about?" Our mentor asks, heading toward the front door "it's time to return the favour. I know that your place isn't as bad as mine but-" he looks to Peeta, his eyebrows raising as if prompting him to remember something.

"Of course" Peeta nods before turning to me "Katniss, you can head back to yours now; Haymitch, Gale and myself are going to be working on our house."

I frown "our house?"

"Yes; we're going to tweak it a bit before you move in and it's going to be a surprise."

We'd been discussing this whilst cleaning Haymitch's place. My mother and Prim was going to have my house and I was going to move in with Peeta. Though we hadn't discussed any alterations to it. "Ok" I sigh. I hate secrets.

"Don't worry" Peeta kisses me "we'll be back in time for tea."

I watch him and Haymitch disappear inside Peeta's house before sighing. Ideally, on a day like today, I would like to go hunting but, with Reed being so small still, it would be inadvisable to do so. I could, I suppose, haul him up into a tree, secure him, and leave him there for a while but I think that might be frowned upon. The last thing I want is to be labelled a bad parent.

"What are we going to do today then, Bugger?" I ask him just as he spits up all down my front. "Right, thanks, Reed; that's just what I needed." I sigh before heading for the house to change.

The next week was spent sitting on the front porch with Reed, watching Peeta and the guys haul stuff to and from his house. I did debate sneaking over there one night just to see what they were doing…the suspense was killing me! But I didn't. It wasn't till the end of the week did I beg Peeta to release Gale for an afternoon so that I could blow off some energy hunting.

And, perhaps, try to get Gale to spill a few secrets.

"We'll be done by the time you get back anyway" Peeta tells me as I hand Reed over to him. My husband had a splodge of paint on his nose and white dust in his hair which meant that he'd been painting and building. This just added to my frustrations.

"Right, ok" I say "I'll bring back supper, maybe deer or a nice fat turkey to celebrate."

Peeta smiles and nods "supper is handled too, Katniss, but don't let that stop you. We can have it tomorrow; I was thinking, actually-" he hands Reed off to Haymitch who starts throwing him into the air, causing the boy to squeal in delight. He loves his uncle Haymitch, purely because uncle Haymitch has a blatant disregard for child safety. Peeta wraps his arms around my waist and nuzzles his nose into my neck "I was thinking that we could put together a picnic and the two of us go off for the day. Haymitch says that he'll have Reed till the next day so that we'll have the entire night to ourselves as well."

"All day _and_ all night with no baby?" I ask in mock horror "whatever will we do with our time?"

"We can work that out tomorrow" he says, nipping my ear lobe before forcing himself to step away from me. "Have fun hunting, Love" he tells me.

"I will so long as Haymitch doesn't kill our only child" I reply, eying the guy up just as he catches Reed again.

Haymitch chuckles "don't worry, Sweetheart, he's safe with me." Before putting him on his shoulders and running off toward Peeta's house.

I couldn't help but smile; I trusted Haymitch, of course I did, there was not buts about it. I watch him with Reed and, despite the fact that he throws the child into the air and stuff that I would never do, he's never reckless about it. He doesn't throw him too high and he's always there to catch him with the utmost precision. Plus, watching them together really warmed my heart.

"I hope he has kids one day" Peeta sighs, as Gale jogs up to us with our old hunting sacks "he'd be a good dad."

"Maybe he'll persuade Effie" I say before kissing him goodbye and heading off with Gale.

"So are Effie and Haymitch together?" Gale asks, as we head toward where the seam used to be.

I shrug "in a way, I suppose; they've not announced anything but they're pretty damn head over heels for each other."

It was nice to have my hunting partner back; it had been so long since I'd hunted but both Gale and I fell back into step with the other as though we'd been out here only yesterday. It was that easy, natural to us.

A couple of hours later, we found ourselves with our sacks full of wild turkey, fish, berries and even a boar. No deer though. We were resting up at our old meeting point, watching the sun slowly set.

"So how's things with you and Peeta?" Gales asks, throwing a berry into his mouth and crushing it with his front teeth, at a specific angle, so that the juice squirted straight into his mouth and saturated his tongue with the sweet flavour.

"Great" I say "why?"

"Well, I was still kinda hoping things wouldn't work out so I could get in there." He replies.

I gawk at him, too surprised by his answer to be horrified. I couldn't believe that he'd be so forward about his intentions; I thought it had passed!

And then he was laughing. "Your face is such a picture, Katniss!" He gasps, clutching at his ribs.

"That is _not_ funny, Gale!" I snap, now embarrassed.

"It was damn hilarious, Katniss!"

In my embarrassed rage, I grab a fist full of the red berries and smash them into his hair, causing the juice to trickle down his face. "There" I snap "laugh at that!"

"Katniss" he chuckles, unfazed by my berry attack, "I wanted to ask you how you felt about me and Johanna."

This brings me up short "Johanna Mason?" He nods quietly, evaluating my reaction. "I thought that she terrifies you!"

"She does" he grins and it's a grin I've never seen before. His eyes kinda glaze over as though he's daydreaming. "She's fantastic" he sighs.

"Hey!" I slap his face to bring him back round "Gale, what the hell?"

"I don't know" he shrugs "I spent a long time avoiding her and then something shifted. I didn't want to tell you about it in case you didn't approve."

"It's not that I don't approve" I say, almost speechless "I am confused though. Every time I saw the two of you together you were always fighting."

"True" he nods "nothing really happened until we were about to go to the Capitol."

"Happened? What happened?"

"Well, we were arguing and then she kisses me and tells me to be careful. She punched me in the ribs afterwards" he added, smiling at the memory.

"So…what?" I ask "what are you going to do about it?"

He sighs heavily before shrugging again "not sure; I don't want to leave twelve but-"

"You could ask her to come here" I say "I know Finnick and Annie are toying with the idea, Effie's coming to. It'll be a new start for everyone."

"Everyone?" Gale raises his eyes "including us?"

"Well yes, twelve was all but flattened; we're all starting out again."

Gale was quiet for a moment before nodding "sure, I'll think about it, Catnip."

Johanna Mason and Gale? Even I have to admit that I never saw that one coming.


	12. Chapter 12

I was speechless, staring at the beautiful room Peeta had designed for our son; it was baby blue and white in colour, split horizontally (with a wooden border) with blue on top and white on the bottom. He'd painted a tree on the wall, with an own sitting on the branch which over looked his newly built crib.

"Gale built the crib" Peeta tells me softly, leading me inside by the hand "and the table." He nods at the table which stood alongside the crib. "It's a changing table, so that you don't have to change him on the floor anymore. His mom made the mattresses for both and the seat for the rocking chair."

He goes on to tell me that Haymitch built the toy chest and the chest of drawers, filling them with products they'd ordered from the Capitol, along with a few toys that had been whittled from wood and clothes that my mother and Gale's mother had made.

Along the wall where the chests were, Peeta had screwed four hooks into the wall. Each hook had been attached to an individual piece of wood shaped into letters to form Reed's name. "It's wonderful" I gasp "Peeta, I don't know what to say!"

"I wanted only the best for our son" he tells me "and I'll do the same again if we have more. I love him, Katniss, I can show him every day but I want him to feel loved as well. I didn't want him to have a blank room. I know that it's _just_ a room-" he continues but I quieten him.

"It's not _just_ a room, Peeta" I say, looking around again "there's so much love in here; painted into the walls, nailed into the toy chest and his dresser. I know he's going to love it, when he's old enough to appreciate it, because I do. It's absolutely amazing."

"Well" Peeta was embarrassed now "we all worked pretty damn hard."

"And it shows" I assure him.

He grins at me before leading me back down the stairs where we sat down to eat the supper Peeta had prepared. "It's your lamb stew" he tells me "I made it from scratch but the ingredients came from the Capitol. I know you love it so I wanted to make it for you."

"You did a perfect job" I tell him, taking a bite and falling in love with the dish all over again.

We eat in silence for a while before Peeta starts talking again. "So why was Gale covered in red berries?"

I snort into my lamb stew. "He annoyed me" I say "he played a joke on me and I got angry."

"What was the joke?" Peeta asks, looking curious.

"He was said that he was waiting for our relationship to breakdown so that he could take your place." I say "but he actually wanted to ask me my opinion on him and Johanna."

Peeta choked on his mouthful of rice. "What?!"

"That was exactly my reaction!" I tell him.

"Johanna Mason?" He checked. I nod in confirmation and watch as he shakes his head "now that's something I didn't see coming." He laughs. "I think they suit each other."

"She still terrifies him" I say.

Peeta shrugs "you still terrify me." He then grins "I think they'll reign each other him; well, he'll tame her and she'll continue to terrify him."

We laugh before discussing our opinions on Haymitch and Effie.

The next day, as we're preparing to leave on our picnic, the phone rings. Since Peeta is packing our basket and Haymitch is feeding Reed, I go. "Hello?"

"Katniss?"

"Prim! Hi!"

My little sister laughs down the phone. "Hey, Katniss. How're you?"

"Good; when are you coming home?" I ask impatiently.

"Well, that's what this call was about; we're due to arrive at the end of the week."

"That's great!" I say

"Johanna, Finnick and Annie are coming as well. They have a surprise for you" she tells me but doesn't let on anything else "and tell Haymitch that Effie's bringing enough luggage to furnish at least three houses."

I laugh "sure, I'll warn him, Prim. How're you, how's mom?"

"Oh, Katniss" she sighs happily "I've learned so much here! We're both great, mom's bringing Reed a load of stuff so make room for it."

"I will" I assure her "I can't wait to show you the nursery; Peeta, Haymitch and Gale did such a wonderful job!"

"I'm sure they did. It's not like them to do such a poor job, plus they all dote on him; it's funny to watch."

"You should see Gale and Haymitch when they're fighting over who gets to feed him; they're like two old women!"

Prim giggles "I can imagine! Anyway, Katniss, I'd better go. See you soon, love you!"

"Love you too, Prim. Bye!"

I return to Peeta and tell both him and Haymitch the good news. "Brilliant" Haymitch smiles "anyway, you two kids have fun and don't worry about this one." He waves us off from his front door but, when I turn back he's not there.

"Don't worry, Katniss; Reed will be fine."

"I know" I say "it's just, since coming back from the Capitol, I don't like to leave him."

Peeta couldn't have picked a better day for a picnic. The sun was high and it was warm but the wind gave us that much needed chill to stay cool. We walked for a while, through the woods; Peeta wanted me to show him where Gale and I hunted. I showed him the traps and the snares Gale had made, described what this place was like at sunrise and at sunset. He listened intently, nodding and asking questions before he began pointing out birds and flowers, describing how he could paint them once his kit arrives from the capitol.

Finally, after almost three hours of walking, we break free of the forest and find ourselves at a beautiful meadow which stretches out further than my eyes can see. We pick a tree, not far from the forest line, and settle down in the shade, sitting on the blanket Peeta had packed.

"We never ventured this far out before" I tell Peeta, still awed by the meadow. "Never even knew it was here. When Gale and I hunted, we'd go in a circle, never in a straight line."

"Well" Peeta opens the basket "I have to admit that I saw a few old maps whilst we were staying at Snow's mansion. You know that district twelve was known as the Rocky Mountains, right?" I nod "well I found it on a map and, of course, most of it is rocky terrain but I saw this green patch on the map and figured that we should investigate it. Was it worth it?" He pulls out two cups and bottle of white liquid I recognised to be wine.

"So worth it" I nod, accepting the cup and taking a sip. My eyes widened as the liquid hit my tongue. I'd never had this one before; maybe I'd missed it at the parties we'd been to. It was sweet but not like honey and it was delicious.

"Moscato" he tells me as I drain my cup "it's meant to be a desert wine; I take it that you like it?"

I nod, holding my cup out to him. "More please."

He half fills it before refilling his "better go easy though" he says "we need to be able to remember the way back."

Peeta's packed water, left over lamb stew from yesterday, pureed apples, a couple of the fish Gale and I had caught yesterday and, my favourite, cheese buns. It was a random concoction of foods but it was still amazing. Peeta had removed the bones from the fish before cooking them and then seasoning them so that they tasted wonderful. We ate and talked for a while, catching up on the week and talking about what progress Reed was making.

"I do love you" Peeta sighs as we lay together, watching the sun slowly set. "I've really missed just spending time with you."

"Me too" I say "but I think that we have pretty good excuses for that."

"What, surviving two hunger game arenas and a rebellion?" He laughs.

"Exactly" I grin before sighing and sitting up "let's get back before dark."

We fall into bed, exhausted, but we don't sleep.

"I'd like more kids" Peeta murmurs into the gloom "a playmate for Reed."

I smile but sigh a little; I wasn't against having any more children but I wanted to wait until Reed was at least out of diapers before we start thinking about it seriously. "I'd like to sleep" I reply, closing my heavy eyes. I expected Peeta to press it but he didn't, instead, he pulls me closer and decide not to sleep again.

We sleep in later than normal, well past breakfast and into midday. Peeta's up before me, I find him sitting at the table in the catching with tired eyes as he nurses a mug of coffee. Though he's tired, he doesn't hesitate, when I come in, to make me one.

"Sleep well?" He asks.

"Out like a light" I say "when you finally let me sleep."

"Well you weren't complaining" he grins just as Haymitch lets himself in through the kitchen door, grabs my mug of coffee and sits down at the table looking exhausted.

"Erm, Haymitch" Peeta frowns "aren't you forgetting something?"

"Bugger is with Gale" he grunts before glaring at me "didn't think to tell me that he's teething, did you?"

I frown "he was fine last night."

"Well he was screaming all night" Haymitch tells me moodily "didn't shut up till I let the little bugger gnaw on my hand."

"So why are you drinking our coffee?" Peeta asks.

" _Your_ baby kept me from sleeping so now I'm using _your_ coffee to keep me awake."

"I guess that makes sense" he sighs.

"Too damn right, boy."

Gale comes in a little while later with Reed. "You two have a good time?" He asks

"Peeta found this really beautiful meadow" I tell them, keen to share it. "It spread out further than the eye could see and it was just perfect."

"Oh yeah?" Gale raises his eyebrows as he sets Reed down on the floor and watches as he speeds around the kitchen on his hands and knees. "Any more baby Mellarks on the way?"

I frown, wondering why he was asking this, when Haymitch guffaws into his coffee. "The way those two were going at it last night, there's probably three on the way!"

The blush spreads across my face, heating my cheeks, before I can even try to hide it. "What _are_ you talking about?" I ask, still trying to remain cool even though there wasn't much point.

"Could hear you over Reed's screaming" Haymitch smirks "sounded like a dying mutt; I thought it _was_ something dying at first and then-"

"And then what?" Gale's grinning too.

"Then I hear 'PEETA!'" Haymitch shrieks in a girly voice, startling Reed and making my hands tremble. "OH, PEETA" he continues, if this wasn't so damn humiliating I'd find it hilarious; Haymitch looked a right sight. "DON'T STOP, PEETA!"

"Least she's getting some" Peeta say coolly "oh yeah, so am I. You two have to take matters into your own hands."

"Not for long," Gale winks at him, slapping him on the back. "And, anyways, at least if it's not me drilling her, I'm glad it's you."

"Gale!" I shriek, sounding exactly like Haymitch, setting my best friend and my mentor off again.

Peeta's smiling but, when I catch his eye, he just shakes his head at me. Sick of being laughed at, I scoop Reed up off the floor and head upstairs to put him down for his nap.

"What are they trying to do to me?" I coo down at my son as I change his dirty diaper "they're just jealous, aren't they?"

Reed gurgles sleepily at me as I sit in the rocking chair with him and sing to him as I rock him to sleep.

I stay in the chair longer than necessary just staring at my son as he sleeps. "Is he out?" Peeta asks in whisper as he walks into the room.

"Like a light" I say, getting up and transferring him to the crib.

Peeta and I stand there for a moment, staring at him. "You know they're just teasing, right?"

"I know" I say.

Then he puts his hand on mine. I lift my eyes only to see that he's already staring at me "besides, I don't care what they think; I love hearing you say my name."

"Hopefully I don't sound like Haymitch"

"No" he shakes his head "trust me, you don't. Katniss," his gaze deepens and I already know what he's going to say before it tumbles from his lips "I'd love to hear you say my name again."

"Peeta" I whisper, teasing him before I allow him to tow me from the nursery and into our room.


	13. Chapter 13

We'd had a call to say that the weather around the Capitol was too bad for flying so they were going to come by train instead but to still expect them as planned.

"Prim!" I call as soon as my little sister steps from the train and onto the platform.

She waves at me and comes running over. "Katniss! Was that the same train you and Peeta went on?"

"Looks like it" I say "how was it?"

"Amazing! Reed!" She scoops Reed out of my arms and hugs him "wow, you got big!" She tells him as my mother finally joins us.

"I missed you" she told me quietly, embracing me and kissing my cheek.

"You too" I say before she turns to her grandson and starts cooing over him.

I scan the station looking for Cinna but only seeing Johanna and Gale making out against the platform wall and Effie sweeping a strand of Haymitch's hair from his face. I hear her telling him that she's going to get Cinna to cut it as they walk away.

"Hey girl on fire, looking for me?" I whirl around and found my-self almost nose to nose with Cinna. "You came!" I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Of course" he nods "I lost my respect, or what remained of it, for the Capitol when they captured and tortured me. So I figured that, seeing as everyone else seems to be coming here, I'll come too."

"You are more than welcome" I tell him. "We're having a massive get together back at the village; Peeta's just putting together the finishing touches." I wave Annie and Finnick over and embrace them as well before heading back for our celebration.

It had been Gale's idea to put together a long table so that we could all eat outside together, rather than crowding ourselves in one of our kitchens. That way, no one was really hosting and people were free to leave as and when.

We'd given out a few of the other Victor houses. One to Gale, one to the rest of his family, one to Annie and Finnick and one to Cinna so they didn't have far to go.

The celebration was a blast; everyone had returned with presents for Reed. He was now the most spoiled child district twelve had ever known and, given the circumstances, I didn't even feel bad about it. Finnick and Annie were the last to give theirs, a small, blue, patchwork teddy bear. "It's a friend for him to have when he's lonely" Annie tells me "or until our child is old enough to play with him."

"What?" I blink at her, trying to fathom out what she'd just said. "Annie, what are you saying?"

"I'm almost three months pregnant" she tells me happily "Finnick is over the moon about it! I found out just after you all left for the Capitol but I didn't tell anyone until I'd told Fin and then we both wanted to wait until we were all together again."

"Congratulations" I tell her "really, Annie, you two deserve such happiness."

She nods "it feels like we might get it here, Katniss; who needs family by your side when you're surrounded by friends?"

"My mother once told me that friends are the family you get to choose" I say, hugging her close. "If you want the baby's room done properly, get Peeta, Haymitch and Gale to do it. You should see Reed's nursery, it's amazing!"

"I will, Katniss" Annie grins, hugging me again before letting me go.

I congratulate Finnick as well before I go and find Peeta who's sat with Haymitch and Effie, talking. "Peeta, I'm going to head to bed."

He looks at me and frowns "are you ok?"

"Yeah, I need to put Reed down and I'm pretty tired. I'll just meet you upstairs, ok?"

"I won't be long" he assures me but I tell him to take all the time he needs which is a good thing because I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Reed's first birthday marked several occasions.

The first being the birth of Annie and Finnick's son, Dylan, who was born in the very early hours of the morning with the help of Haymitch and my mother.

The second being, since a few more people had arrived, district twelve began to transform. Today, my son's first birthday, marked the day that the final house was finished and now district twelve, despite the horrors it had faced, stood bold and strong. The houses had been rebuilt from brick and mortar, now looking just as nice as the ones in the Victors Village. The hill which had been the meadow before it had been dug up to become a mass grave, now looked green and lush and the fence had been rebuilt, wooden, not metal, and no electricity. We were free to hunt as we pleased. Of course, there was a lot more to do still but the first phase had been completed.

And, lastly, Effie and Haymitch finally announced their engagement.

"Big day today, big boy" I smile at my son as I dress him. "How old are you, Reed?" I ask him.

"Mama" he just giggles as I do up his dungarees and let him go so that he can crawl over to the building blocks Gale made for him.

I watch him fondly, wondering where all the time went. One year ago today he was just a tiny little thing who could fit, head to toe, in his father's hands and now, he was saying a few words 'mama' and 'dada' being his favourite, crawling and walking.

"It's weird to think that this time last year we were in a bunker in thirteen, right?" Peeta's voice says.

"Very weird" I agree, accepting his hand so that I could get up again.

Vertigo hit almost immediately and Peeta had to stop me from falling over. "Alright?" He asks

"Just got up too fast" I smile. "Any word on Annie?"

"Finnick just rang to confirm that they'll be at the party; your mom said that she can go so long as she takes it easy."

I grin, unable to contain my excitement. I'd miss having baby cuddles and, now with Dylan in the picture, I was becoming rather broody. Not that I would ever mention this to Peeta just yet. It's just a phase, it'll pass. "It'll be nice to watch our boys play together, won't it?" I say, resting my head against Peeta's shoulder as we watch Reed build a tower before knocking it down and laughing as though it was the funniest thing in the world.

My mother had persuaded me to let her host Reed's party; she didn't want me to stress over it when I still had to take care of him. I don't know too much about what'll happen but I do know who's coming and who's making the cake.

"I'm going to have a nap before we leave" I tell Peeta, rubbing my eyes wearily "we have time, don't we?"

"Plenty" he nods, frowning "are you sure you're alright?"

"Stop worrying, Peeta" I sigh "Reed was up, teething, last night; I'm just tired."

"Alright" he says, unconvinced "we'll be fine; I'll wake you up ten minutes before we need to leave."

Before I know it, Peeta's shaking me awake. "Everything ok?" I ask, sitting up and stretching.

"You slept through the entire thing!" He tells me, his face deadpan.

I frown, looking at the window "no I didn't! You wouldn't let me miss his first birthday!"

"You're right, sorry" he cracks a grin "ten minutes, Katniss."

"Where's Reed?" I ask, running my fingers through my hair.

"He fell asleep ten minutes ago" he rolls his eyes "great timing, huh?"

I smile "it's fine, gives us adults a chance to talk."

Reed sleeps for almost two hours before we decide to wake him up; I normally hate having to wake him up because he gets grouchy, much like me, but if we don't wake him then he won't sleep later. "Here he is!" Peeta calls, leading Reed into the room; his small fist wrapped around Peeta's finger.

Reed is used to large gatherings so, instead of crying, his face brightens and he runs over to Johanna. Yeah, that one we're still trying to figure out. For some reason he took immediate liking to her even though she tried to avoid him. She's accepted it now though and opens her arms for him, pretending that it's a chore but we all know she secretly loves it.

"Gotta be a sucker to hate his sleepy cuddles, right?" Gales asks her fondly as Reed buries his face into her shoulder.

"Not when he's wiping boogers and dribbling all over my neck" she says. Johanna, who'd had a pretty rough time of it in the capitol, came back fighting; though she can still be a miserable cow sometimes, she's still a pretty good friend. Her hair, which had been shaved before, had now started to grow back; it looked nice, made her look pretty rather than scary.

Peeta had gone from watching Reed for a moment, back to watching me with baby Dylan; there was something in his face that made me think that he was going to bring up the topic of children again. I didn't have the heart to deny him of another child and I don't think that I could even argue against it now that I was holding a new born again.

It's funny to think that, this time only two years ago, I didn't want children. The idea of having them terrified me but with the games now just a part of history I didn't need to be scared anymore, that my children could have a better life than I did.

Tonight I was going to agree to trying for another baby.

Reed was spoiled rotten; he received more toys and clothes that even we knew what to do with. It took almost ten of us to carry it all back to the house but he was out before supper time with no fuss. "Been a big day for him" Peeta tells me as he joins me in bed "he's totally out of it."

"Well he was chasing Finnick around for most of the afternoon" I laugh before sighing and rubbing my stomach. I think I'd eaten way too much cake, I was feeling so bloated that it was uncomfortable. "Why do you have to bake things that taste like heaven?" I ask my husband as though it was his fault that I'd overindulged.

"Eat too much?" He grins

"Mm" I moan.

I don't sleep well. I have to visit the bathroom a couple of times, feeling ill, before I finally began to throw up. Peeta woke, the next morning, to find me in a shivery, sweaty mess. He calls my Mom over only for her to confirm what I already knew.

The flu had struck.

She gave me her herbal remedies first, to see if they'd help, before resorting to the expensive stuff; tablets to bring my temperature down and more tablets to settle my stomach. She then prescribed bedrest for the next week; I didn't even have the energy to complain.

At least it didn't hit until _after_ Reed's birthday. I'd have felt awful if I'd missed it.

"How are you feeling?" Peeta asks, at the end of the week, just as he'd settled Reed down to sleep.

"Better" I nod, smiling.

"Better enough for me to kiss you?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

I'd made Peeta sleep in the second spare bedroom whilst I was ill. I didn't want to pass it on to him whilst he was taking care of Reed. "Hmm" I grin "not sure about that…" but I pull him in and kiss him.

"Dylan's doing well" Peeta tells me, settling into bed beside me "healthy."

"I know that my mother and Prim learned some new stuff whilst they were in the Capitol" I say "and were allowed to bring a few things back with them. I caught Haymitch playing with one of the machines a couple weeks ago."

"Was it that one that shocks your heart?" I nod "yeah" Peeta laughs "he almost killed himself the other day. He hadn't realised he'd turned it on and actually shocked himself but he's fine!" He assures me "Effie made him sleep on the sofa for a couple of days for his idiocy but he's fine."

"That man is a danger to himself" I sigh.

We sat in silence for a moment before I heard Peeta take a breath, as though he wanted to say something but wasn't sure whether to bring it up or not. "Katniss," he finally says "have you thought anymore about what I said a few months ago; about having more children?"

I nod "yes, I have actually. Dylan made me realise just how much I miss Reed being small."

"So you want to start trying again?"

"Peeta" I sigh and I watch his face fall "hey, none of that; no pouting. I was just going to say that even if we do start trying, it doesn't mean anything will happen."

"Then why don't we stop _not_ trying" he suggests "and then whatever happens, happens."

I nod "ok, Peeta." I hated those little pills from the Capitol anyway; I'd forget to take them most day and, by the time I remember that I need to take them, usually a week had passed. At least, if I'm not taking the pills any more, I won't have to ask my mother to order me in more from the Capitol.

"Ok?" He asks, shocked that I agreed so quickly "really?"

"Yes" I smile.

Peeta was more into it than I was, ordering the both of us vitamins, eating better and living better. I was just happy carrying on as we were and deal with any changes when they come.

It didn't start irritating me until four months later; my libido was acting up, some nights I'd just want to sleep and some nights, sleep was the last thing on my mind but Peeta's approach was more direct. He'd been reading medical books about babies and conception; had even been charting my periods when he could.

It was the night after Haymitch and Effie's wedding; I should have been knackered from the day of celebration and dancing and way too much food but it was one of those times where I _didn't_ want to sleep. Peeta was reading a baby book, completely engaged in it, and there I was trying to get his attention. I run a hand over his bare stomach, feeling the electricity spark between his skin and mine.

"Not tonight, Katniss" he tells me as I edge closer to him "only a couple more days then you're ovulating and then-"

"Oh, shut up, Peeta!" I snap, rolling over and turning my back on him; pissed off that he'd now taken the fun out of sex. He tried to talk to me but, childishly, I ignored him, pretending that I was asleep.

The next morning, I woke before he did and took Reed over to see Prim and my mother. "So what's going on this time?" Prim asks me as we eat breakfast in the kitchen.

"What makes you think that something's going on?" I ask

"Katniss" she shakes her head "how often are you over here this early in the morning?"

I sigh heavily. "We had a disagreement" I admit, unwilling to say more on the subject.

"About what?" She asks

"Prim" I sigh "somethings are-" I struggle to explain myself but Prim just grins.

"I get it, Katniss; it's about sex, right?" The blush on my face answered her question. "What's going on?"

I sigh heavily "we've been trying to have another baby" I say "but now it's become more of a chore; Peeta's got it so that we can only do it on specific days at specific times now and it's starting to annoy me."

"Well, I'd guessed that you were trying, Katniss" she tells me "but we already thought that you were pregnant."

"We?" I blink in confusion "who's we?"

"Mother, Haymitch and myself." She smiles "we thought that you were just trying to find the right moment to tell us."

"What makes you think that?"

She shrugs "your breasts have gotten fuller and you're always tired."

"That comes with having a eighteen month old, Prim." Choosing to ignore the breast comment.

My little sister gets up from the table and disappears from the room before reappearing a moment later with the same pink and white stick Haymitch had given me. "You know what this is and how to use it?" I nod "go use it and then see what it says."

I head to the bathroom, leaving Reed in Prim's care; how could they think that I was already pregnant when I'd had no signs but, sure enough, when I worked up the courage to look at the stick, it told me that I was pregnant.

"What did it say?" She asks.

"Positive" I whisper "but- I don't understand." I admit

"Well, I'd say you're almost five months; Haymitch first made a comment just before Reed's first birthday."

"Five months!" I all but shriek "but how could I have not known that?!"

"It would explain the flu and the vertigo" she tells me "not every pregnancy is the same. Come on, we'll get mom to look at you, she's been dying to use the scanner machine."

Our mother confirmed Prim's words. I was almost five months. I was still sitting in the study, in complete shock, when I heard the doorbell go. "Hey, Prim; have you seen Katniss?" I hear Peeta's muffled voice ask.

I look at my mother "don't say anything to him yet." I plead "I need to get my head around it first."

She nods "of course, Prim won't say anything either."

When Peeta walks into the study to find me sitting on the loveseat with Reed, playing with him. I look up with raised eyebrows. "Look" he shuffles nervously, not willing to talk about this in the presence of my family "I'm sorry, Katniss; I didn't realise just how-"

"We'll go" Prim states, taking my mother's hand and leading her out of the room.

Peeta joins me on the loveseat, scooping Reed onto his lap. "I didn't realise how obsessed I'd become over it. I was thinking, maybe we should just give up on the schedule and do things as we were doing. I mean, it worked with Reed."

He looked so sad and concerned that I couldn't bear to keep this from him, as I'd wanted to. I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to keep the smile from my face as I tried to play along. "So we can do it whenever we want? No rules?"

"No rules" he nods "I'm really sorry; I just want another one so badly that- what?" He stops when the smile breaks through and I begin laughing "why are you laughing?"

"Peeta, the reason why it hasn't worked was because I was pregnant _before_ we even started trying."

His reaction was the same as mine "what?!"

 **So, I apologise for the lack of story line right now; I'm trying to come up with one so I'm not just waffling at you...which is why there's been a gap between uploads...that and the fact that I work evenings and am also so damn tired. Anyways, I hope I'm not disappointing you all.**

 **Thanks for reading, I much appreciate the support!**


	14. Chapter 14

"You honestly had no idea?" Peeta asks. We were back at our house, sat in the kitchen. Prim had offered to take Reed for a while so that we could sit down and talk without having to worry about entertaining him.

"None" I say "I found out about ten minutes before you did, Peeta."

"Well" he laughs and shakes his head before all but launching himself across the table to hug me "I'm so happy, Katniss; are you ok?"

I nod "yes." Honestly, when I'd found out, I hadn't been too thrilled but that all changed after seeing the baby on the monitor but I decide not to tell Peeta this.

We were just in the process of putting lunch together when Gale bursts into the kitchen, a big smile on his face. "Hey! Have you heard the news?!"

Peeta and I look at each other "what news?" We ask together.

"Well, of course you haven't heard the news!" Gale laughs, shaking his head " _I've_ only just heard it!" He then starts to leave but he stops at the door and says "dinner at mine tonight, seven ok? Good" then he leaves leaving Peeta and I more confused than we had been when he'd burst in.

"What on earth was that about?" I ask.

"Not a clue but hey, we'll be able to make our announcement at dinner" he smiles before going back to slicing bread.

Reed stays with Prim for the rest of the day; she happily agreed to putting him to bed for us and waiting for our return before she goes back home. I had a feeling that she knew what Gale had been yelling about earlier; I'd been talking to her about it and she was smiling. I can always tell when Prim is hiding something but I know that she only keeps secrets when she has to.

We arrive at Gale and Johanna's at seven on the dot and are surprised to see Haymitch and Effie there as well and even I couldn't fail to notice that every person in the room, including Peeta and myself, were hiding something.

"I didn't know you could cook" I state to Johanna as she sets a platter of various meats in the centre of the table.

"Just because I don't, doesn't mean that I can't" she states "anyways, I think it took Gale a while to trust the fact that I wouldn't try to poison you all."

I laugh at this but Peeta looks a little confused "why would you poison us?" He asks but she just winks as she goes back to grab some more plates of food. "Would she really have tried to poison us?" He turns to me.

"Peeta" I kiss his cheek "I think that it was her attempt at a joke." I look at Haymitch "do you have any idea what this big news is?" I ask.

"Not a clue. Effie and I were having some us time on the couch when he bursts in and invites us to dinner. I don't think he even noticed that our clothes were on the floor!"

"Haymitch!" Effie slaps his arm, a blush creeping up her cheeks but Haymitch just grins in his new childlike manner and shrugs.

I smiled at him; since marrying Effie, Haymitch had turned into the guy I'm sure he had been before the games. She'd even gotten him completely sober. He raises geese now for a living, providing some of us with fresh eggs. He's a lot nicer as a person now, more manageable; even Gale likes him. When Gale and Johanna got together, Haymitch helped him manage her because she was still a little unstable and, since then, the two of them have gotten really close so it makes sense that Haymitch is here too.

"So are we ever going to find out what this big news is?" Effie asks as Gale and Johanna finally take their seats at the table. She still isn't one for biting her tongue when it comes to stuff like this.

Gale and Johanna look at each other, grinning. "Well, it's kind of a double whammy" Gale admits. "I proposed to her this morning and then we found out that we're expecting a baby!"

This shocked me; of course, I knew that Gale had wanted children but I never took Johanna to be the maternal type. "Congratulations!" Peeta grins "how far along are you?"

"Three months" Johanna nods "not showing yet." She looks down at her flat stomach and sighs which got me wondering whether or not this is actually what she wanted.

"Well" Haymitch smiles "congratulations you two; would it be rude of me to say that Effie and I have an announcement as well?"

"Haymitch, it can wait" she scolds "this is their evening!"

"No, it's ok" Gale nods "go ahead."

"We're expecting too" Haymitch announces, his grin widening even more.

Effie nods in a very un-Effie-like way, shyly. "Almost three months."

"We wanted to wait to announce it" Haymitch nods "we were going to wait until we knew the gender but with you two expecting and- what?" He turns to me and Peeta who are slowly turning red as we try to contain our humour.

"Sorry" Peeta snorts, taking my hand in his "it's just" he looks to me "we just found out that we're expecting our second. Katniss just found out that she's almost five months pregnant."

The whole table was stunned into silence for a moment before everyone began laughing and congratulating each other. "Well, this is cause for celebration!" Haymitch says, raising his glass of water for a toast "to new beginnings" he nods at Gale and Johanna, acknowledging their engagement "and the continuation of the Victor race!"

Effie ropes Johanna and I into agreeing on a trip to the Capitol to buy the 'must haves' for our unborn children, saying that there's an 'absolutely superb' group of shops on the front strip that specifies in infant necessities. Despite Johanna and I's reservations about going back to the Capitol, we both felt that we couldn't deny Effie of this when she was just so damn excited.

"We'll wait until we know the gender, of course" she tells us "then the boys can work on the nurseries whilst we go on our trip! It will be fabulous!"

Since the rebellion, travelling between districts is now allowed; we're also allowed to move out of our own district if we want though, besides the few who've come to twelve, not many have. We all seem to prefer our home districts. I'm not in a hurry to return to the Capitol and I know that Johanna has even more doubts about it considering the fact that she was held captive and tortured there but, for Effie's sake, we agreed.

"I wonder if Cinna will want to come" I say halfway through dessert.

"No, no" Effie says "Cinna counts as one of the boys; he'll be helping with the nurseries."

"He's still designing clothes though, isn't he?" Peeta asks.

I nod "yes, he's making some outfits for Reed; I think most of Dylan's clothes were his design as well."

"He should start up a shop" Gale laughs "I think the three of us, as well as Finnick and Annie, would keep him in business."

"I suggested that to him" I say "but he says that he wouldn't charge friends for his clothes; he does it out of passion and love for his work rather than for money."

Peeta and I relieve Prim of toddler duty just after midnight. "I'm glad you two had a good time" she says, yawning "Reed was well behaved; I made him rice pudding for supper."

"Bet he loved that" Peeta smiles, giving her a hug and thanking her for taking care of him.

"He loved it and it's no problem; it's a pleasure. He's such a happy little boy; you two are doing so well with him."

"I think he's got more of Peeta in him" I say causing them both to laugh.

"Well, anyway; see you two tomorrow." My little sister, who's not so little any more, gives Peeta and I one last hug.

"I'll walk you back" Peeta tells her.

"Don't be silly, I'm only 25 yards across there!" But there was no arguing with him.

Whilst I waited for Peeta to return, I headed up the stairs to check on Reed who was sleeping soundly in the big boy bed we'd got for him the moment he'd managed to escape his crib. I kneel down beside him and plant a soft kiss on his temple before heading back down to find that Peeta had already returned and had started to boil us some milk. "Is he ok?"

I nod "so far gone he's snoring" I chuckle. "He's hugging that toy train you made him."

"The wooden one?" I grin in reply making Peeta laugh "that cannot be comfortable."

I sit at the table and wait for Peeta to pass me my cup of warm milk before taking his hand and squeezing it. "Things are really going to change now" I say "more children running around."

"It's going to be wonderful" Peeta smiles "for the first time in years I now feel relaxed and hopeful for our future."

"You didn't before?"

He shook his head "kind of but it was only really us and our family that was changing, now Effie and Haymitch are expecting and Gale and Johanna are engaged as well…it feels like the rest of the world is finally catching up with us."

"I understand" I nod "it's going to be weird seeing Haymitch with his own child, don't you think?"

"No, I've seen him with Reed plenty of times; I think that I'd like to be there for their name discussions though. You know how strange the names are in the Capitol; I can just see Effie spouting off a load of names that Haymitch will hate."

I laugh "and Haymitch suggesting names that she'll think are too common!"

We both laugh together for a moment before Peeta sighs "are you really ok with going back to the Capitol?"

"I think so" I say "I mean, I'd rather not go but it'll be interesting to see how much it has changed now that there's no Snow or Coin to dictate things. I wish that you could come though."

"Me too" he nods. Peeta is strange when it comes to baby things. Most men leave the shopping side of things to the women but Peeta gets more into it than I do; it's really fascinating to watch. Actually, it's not just the shopping, it's the bathing and changing diapers when the baby finally arrives. Most people, including myself, hate having to change dirty nappies but Peeta loves it; states that it's bonding time for the parent and the child. I'd never thought that I'd see a man smile whilst a baby urinates in his face.

He's also excellent when it comes to cleaning up vomit; I can't stomach it, which is strange considering that I can kill and gut animals. Peeta normally handles Reed when he's ill with a sickness bug and he's brilliant with him.

"How did I get so lucky?" I ask him with a sigh.

"With what?" He asks

"You, Peeta Mellark, how did I get so lucky with you?"

Peeta just grins before moving our empty cups to the sink. He then takes my hand and kisses it before leading me up the stairs to bed.


	15. Chapter 15

I'm sweating my socks off in a baby shop in the capitol, I'm almost eight months pregnant because Effie wanted to wait until we all knew the sex of our babies before going baby shopping and, because she and Johanna were only three months, at the time we'd been discussing it, it meant that we had to wait at least three more before Effie booked us on the train to go shopping.

I was weighed down with bags of stuff Effie told me 'I just had to have'.

I was tired from all of the walking.

I was hungry (though I'm always hungry nowadays).

I needed to pee.

I was grouchy because I needed to pee, because I was hungry and tired and hot and I knew that I was going to explode soon.

Annie was the one who came to my rescue. I was glad that Effie had invited her, she was the only sane one in the group which, considering, pretty much spelt out how Effie and Johanna make me feel when we're around each other for too long. "Can I take a few of your bags, Katniss?" She asks, letting Effie and Johanna ahead of us.

"Thanks" I say, handing a few of them over.

"It's ok" she smiles at me "anyway, this is the last shop; there's no more along the strip. We've been in all of them."

"Feels like we've been in all of them twice" I grunt, looking around before spotting an almost empty display stand. I quickly swipe the lurid pink dress onto the floor before sitting down on it with a loud groan. My feet felt as though they'd doubled in size.

Annie sits down next to me and watches Effie and Johanna giggle over something. Pending motherhood had really changed Johanna, it had made her softer and much more tolerable. Not Effie though, if anything she now seemed ten times more annoying than she had been before but then that's probably just me. "Are you sad that you're having another boy?" Annie asks me.

I look at her, frowning. "Why would I be sad?" I ask

"Just that you already have Reed, wouldn't you have liked a girl this time?"

I smile as I say "I hadn't really thought about it. As long as he's happy and healthy I don't mind. I think that Peeta would have liked a girl" I nod. Johanna and Effie were both expecting girls and though both Haymitch and Gale complained a little we all knew that they were secretly please to have little girls to spoil.

"Do you have a name for him yet?"

"Yes" I laugh "Mo, well Mozart."

"Still going for the music theme then?" She smiles

I nod "yes; Mozart was actually the first boys name we looked at this time around and we both fell in love with it. We couldn't imagine calling him anything else so Mo has just stuck."

"Well I can see why you like it" Annie replies "it's a nice name."

"Hey, Katniss!" Johanna comes back over with Effie close on her heel "we've ordered you a pram; it'll come on the next train. Next week we think."

"But I already have a pram" I tell them.

"Katniss, Effie's paying for it" she whispers.

"Oh, ok, thanks" I frown "can we go now? My feet are sore."

The train that Effie booked is the same one that took Peeta and I to the Capitol for the games. I thought that I might feel awkward being on it but there was something homely about it, something comforting. "I wonder if the boys have finished the nurseries yet." Annie wonders out loud as we settle down at the table where a late lunch was waiting for us.

We'd been gone for almost two days and it would be almost two more before we get back but it had taken Haymitch, Gale and Peeta a week to finish Reed's room. They had three nurseries to do and, even with the addition of Cinna and Finnick's talented hands, I don't think that they'd have even nearly finished one. I tell them this and Johanna nods "I think they're doing them in sections. Designing, painting and then the furniture."

"They did such a good job on Reed's and Dylan's rooms" Effie sighed happily "I really don't mind how long it'll take them so long as it's done to the same standard."

After lunch, I left them talking baby names to go for a nap. I already knew what Johanna and Effie had decided on. Haymitch and Effie had gone with Aria-Rose (of course it's hyphenated) which, considering some of the Capitol names I've heard, is actually really nice and Gale and Johanna have gone with Jade.

I smile to myself as I settle down in my bed. Haymitch had actually rolled his eyes at the hyphenation when Effie had been harping on about it but even he had to admit that the name had grown on him the more it was used.

When I open my eyes again I'm surprised to see that Johanna is standing over me, watching me sleep. "Don't worry" she says, moving to sit on the bed "I don't get some perverted satisfaction by watching you sleep."

"Could have fooled me" I yawn, propping myself up in a sitting position "what's up, Jo?"

She shrugs, picking at her nails. "I suppose the commitment is starting to terrify me" she finally admits. "I've spent so long avoiding finding someone because of the Capitol that I'm having a hard time reminding myself that it's ok now. I keep having nightmares about Gale being tortured just because he's with me and others about our daughter coming into a word that's even worse than the one we grew up in."

I frowned, wondering why she'd come to me with this. I'm not exactly the best person to be giving advice. "Why are you talking to me about it?" I ask

"Because I've discussed it with Gale and he just goes all soppy, telling me that it's going to be ok" she rolls her eyes. "I guess" she sighs "you've always been the more negative, besides me, out of all of us. You volunteered for your sister to keep her safe and you managed to bring Peeta back home with you…twice. How did you convince yourself that the people you love are safe?"

I couldn't help but smirk a little as I shake my head. "I had the absolute pleasure of killing Coin" I tell her "remember? Look, Snow's dead, the Capitol isn't being run by a dictator anymore, the games no longer exist and the arenas have been torn down; that's about as safe as we're going to get right now but" I sigh "it's not something I think about a lot; Peeta and I do talk about it sometimes but, you have to remember, Reed wasn't planned. Before the Quarter Quell, Peeta and I just decided to do things our own way to spite Snow; Reed was just one of the better repercussions of our choices. I think, if we just concentrate on make our children and our loved ones happy then the rest will come and, eventually, those worries will go away."

She nods, looking thoughtful, before getting up off the bed and telling me that dinner is ready before stopping briefly at the door and saying "I have no idea how you managed this in the arena, Jade is being a little bitch today."

"You're telling me!" I laugh "Mo has been dancing on my bladder, I've wet myself twice already." Admitting my lack of bladder control to Johanna wasn't much of an issue considering the fact that, the other day in my kitchen, she'd sneezed and urinated all over the floor.

"Feels amazing, doesn't it?"

"So good" I roll my eyes and follow her from my compartment.

The train finally arrives back in District Twelve, late afternoon, the next day but only my mother and Prim are there to greet us. "Where's Peeta?" I ask, allowing my little sister to hold onto my arm as we walk.

"They've been working nonstop on those bedrooms" my mother tells me "I think they're just putting the finishing touches on Effie's. They wanted them to be ready by the time you got back."

"Did they not sleep at all?"

"Barely" Prim replies.

When we arrive in Victor's Village, Peeta, Cinna, Finnick, Gale and Haymitch are standing by the fountain, waiting for us. They looked knackered and dirty but they were smiling. We split off to investigate our own rooms. Cinna takes Reed so that Peeta can show me Mo's room.

It was painted soft green and brown in colour. Peeta had drawn animals on the wall, copied from books. It was more or less the same as Reed's, regarding the furniture, but it was still amazing. "It was nice to get away from the pink" he tells me as we look around the room, appreciating it together.

"Is Aria's room very pink then?"

"Pink and white; it's not a horrible pink but you should see how many frilly pink dresses she already has stored in there."

I laugh "oh dear, the poor child."

"I think Haymitch has hidden them" Peeta grins "he says he doesn't want his daughter to look like a meringue."

I kiss my husband "I love it, Peeta; it's wonderful."

"I hope that our boys are as close as you are with Prim." He tells me, probably thinking about his family and regretting their relationship.

"There's no reason they won't be" I say. "What colour is Jade's room?"

"Yellow; hers is Elephant themed."

"So Mo got monkeys and Lions and Jade got elephants; what did Aria get?"

"Butterflies" he nods "it's actually really tasteful."

"Of course it is, you helped!" I stop and think for a moment before saying "if we have a girl, I'd like it to be bird themed. Not like detailed or anything, just the outlines of birds in flight."

Peeta smiles and nods before offering out his hand to me. "Come on, love; I bet you're tired. How about you settle in bed and I'll make us so food and we can eat it in bed. How does that sound?"

"It sounds amazing" I say "but what about Reed?"

"Cinna's going to bring him back soon and then it's his bed time."

Peeta spoiled me with my favourite lamb stew before giving me a foot rub to help my swollen feet.

"How was the shopping trip then?" Peeta asks as he sits behind me and starts rubbing my aching back and shoulders.

"Hell" I mutter, leaning into and resting my head on his shoulder.

"It looks like you got plenty of stuff" he states, moving his hands so that they were now resting on my stomach.

"Yeah, Effie got us a new pushchair, but, by the second shop, I'd peed five times and my feet were hurting. I was really uncomfortable."

"Why did she get us a new pushchair? We already have one."

"That's what I said" I sigh, really wanting him to move his hands higher. I start kissing his neck but Peeta sighs. "What?" I ask, feeling a little offended when he pulls away.

"Not tonight, Katniss" he says wearily.

It's very rare that Peeta turns me down and I knew that he was probably just really tired but my damn pregnancy hormones decided to kick in, making me feel completely disgusting. I was bigger than I had been with Reed but Peeta made me feel beautiful even when I felt like a beast. The tears started before I could stop them and I moved out from between his legs and went to the bathroom, locking myself inside.

I knew that I was being ridiculous and irrational, I knew that he hadn't turned me down because he didn't want me but, of course, demon hormones were telling me otherwise.

With Reed, my libido had been up and down but, with this pregnancy, I was constantly wanting more. Sleeping and eating could wait; Peeta had done well to keep up with me but it gets tiring being this wired all the damn time. Of course there would come a time where Peeta had to turn me down, I just never really expected it.

"Katniss?" He knocks softly on the door and then, when I didn't answer, he tries the handle. "Katniss, why is the door locked?"

I start running the bath to try and drown him out; I could do with a bath actually and I'm already up to my neck in warm water by the time Peeta has found the spare key and let himself in.

"Why are you crying?" He asks in surprise as he sits on the edge of the bath.

I answer in that pathetic voice I have when I'm upset. "You don't want me." I whisper feeling stupid and embarrassed.

"What? Katniss, I turned you down because I feel dead on my feet; I don't want to fall asleep. I like being awake when we have sex. Of course I want you! How could I not?"

"Because I look like a beached whale!" I sob

"Katniss!" He exclaims in exasperation "I _love_ your body when you're pregnant! Trust me, you do _not_ look like a beached whale. Seriously" he's staring at me with wide eyes "it takes all of the strength I can muster _not_ to ravage you every time I see you and it's killing me to say no but I would feel bad if I couldn't stay awake." When I don't reply he repeats my name. " _Katniss_ " and it sounds so wounded that it makes me cry even more because I now feel bad that I've made him feel this way. "Come on, do you want me to wash your back?"

I nod and let him wash me before he pulls me out of the tub, wrapping me in a towel and leading me back to bed.

"What am I going to do with you?" He sighs, rubbing my arms. "You're beautiful, Katniss, and you will _always_ be beautiful."

"I'm sorry" I whisper, grabbing my nightgown.

"Don't" he states, taking the gown from me and pulling me into him.

We kiss for a while before the kiss deepens and I know that, if we carry on, I won't be able to stop. "Peeta" I gasp "please stop."

"Why?"

"You said you were tired."

He chuckles against my lips "I'm not anymore."


	16. Chapter 16

It was sweltering hot on the day that Johanna and Gale had their wedding. I was due in five days so there wasn't much I was allowed to do when it came to setting up.

We'd decided to do it in the square, where the reapings and the whippings used to take place. It had been Prim's suggestion; to hold the wedding there to try and erase the bad memories, replacing them with the new _good_ memories.

There wasn't much shade there, so I was sat watching beneath an awning Peeta had erected for me. I wasn't _really_ supposed to be there; my mother had wanted me to stay indoors because of the heat but I'd been going insane with boredom because there was no one around to keep me company.

Annie had Reed helping her and Prim decorate the chairs with ribbons; she had to redo his but it was cute to watch. Reed isn't boisterous like most boys are; he's active, he enjoys running around and getting dirty but he enjoys making things and reading just as much, maybe more. He's sensitive, like his father but also very strong willed and stubborn like me.

I couldn't believe that he was three months away from being two.

Peeta had dressed him today; right now, he was in shorts, sandals and a t-shirt with a hat on to protect him from the sun but later, for the wedding, he was to wear a suit that Gale's mother had made for him; Gale had wanted him to be the ring bearer, a job which little Reed had taken very seriously.

I turn my attention to my mother who was with Cinna, decorating the platform where my best friend would be getting married. It was strange to watch the two of them as they worked and, as I continued to watch them, I noticed just how close they'd become and began to wonder if there was anything more going on between them.

My mother deserved happiness, especially after those horrible years since my father's death, and so did Cinna. Seeing the two of them smiling and laughing together seemed completely natural. I'd not seen many smiles from my mother, she reserved her happiness for Prim, Reed and, now, Cinna.

"Katniss!" Prim comes running over to me once she'd done the final chair. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Johanna?"

"I thought that Effie was doing that?" I say tearing my gaze away from my mother and my stylist.

Prim raises her eyebrows at me "exactly; you need to help Johanna decide _not_ to kill Effie."

I laugh before rising from the chair I'd been sat on "Ok, I'm going."

The new justice building had been built just before the last section of houses had been finished. Johanna was in there with Effie, getting ready.

"Prim" I stop "is there anything going on between our mother and Cinna?"

She smiles a little and shrugs "she's not said anything to me but she's a lot happier around him."

I nod, returning the smile, before continuing toward the justice building.

Johanna was being a lot more patient than I'd expected as Effie helped her get ready. Cinna had made a few adjustments to one of the wedding dresses he'd made for me so that it would fit around Johanna's pregnant stomach.

"You look stunning" I say as I sit down on one of the seats, hearing it groan a little under my weight. I silently hoped it wouldn't break. _That_ would be embarrassing.

Johanna had her hair done in an intricate knot on the back of her head; that, and the makeup, made her look almost unrecognisable. "I look like a cow" she grunts, her hands over her stomach.

"Don't be absurd" Effie scolds "you're glowing!"

"You do look great" I assure her "seriously, Gale's going to be stunned."

"Talking about Gale" Johanna starts, now beginning to panic "can someone go and check to see if he's still here? I don't want to walk out there only to find that he's finally seen sense and ran for the hills."

"I'll go" I offered, heaving myself up from my chair "where is he?"

"The room directly opposite this one" Effie says, starting to play with Johanna's hair again.

Gale looked breath taking; I was used to him looking dirty, as he'd been helping rebuild twelve, but now he was pristine and- "wow" I breathed, closing the door behind me. He was wearing a black tuxedo that Cinna had made for him "Gale, you look-"

"Like a priss, right?"

"Not likely" Cinna laughs.

"I thought that you were helping my mother?" I asked him

"I was" nods Cinna "but I also promised to help Gale."

"Yeah" Gale rolls his eyes "only just showed up."

Cinna laughs again "Gale, you are going to look ravishing by the time I'm done with you."

"You mean you're not done?" Gale asks in surprise "what more is left to do?!"

"You'll see" grins Cinna before turning to me "Katniss, was there something you wanted?"

I'd been watching their exchange with such fascination that I hadn't even realised that both of their attention was now focused on me. "Yeah, I-" I let out a quiet hiss as my stomach twinges and I feel the dread as I know what it probably means but I do my best to cover it up. I wasn't about to spoil Gale and Johanna's wedding day.

"Are you ok?" Cinna asks, frowning. He knew me better than most, except Peeta, Gale…and possibly Haymitch and Prim, but Peeta, Gale and Prim weren't here and Gale was more focused on straightening his bow tie.

I nod, fixing a smile in place "sure, yeah; the bride sent me over here to double check that her groom hadn't seen sense and done a runner."

Gale's head whipped around to stare at me "why would she think that?"

"Just jitters" I shrug "don't worry, Effie's keeping a firm hold on her; _nothing_ is going to go wrong today, Gale. I promise that it's going to be a day that you'll remember for as long as you both shall live" I wink at him before leaving the room and going back to Johanna. "Good news" I state to the two women "he's still here!"

Johanna nods, smiling a little, but I could still see the panic behind her eyes. "See, nothing to worry about" Effie tells her. "Katniss, can you go and get Haymitch?"

"Why do you need Haymitch?" I ask

"Because he's walking me down the aisle" Johanna mutters, sitting down and smoothing out her dress.

Haymitch is walking Johanna down the aisle? I considered this for a moment before looking back on her time in twelve and in thirteen and saw that Haymitch had been a massive support to her. Of course, she didn't have any family left and Haymitch, and now Effie, had become surrogate parents to her…along with Gale's family. "That makes sense" I nod "what did he say when you asked him?"

"He didn't really use words" she replies, looking a little amused "it sounded more like a mouse being trodden on before he sobbed like a baby."

Effie laughs "I don't think he even cried that much when I told him that I was pregnant!"

"He cried when you told him that you were pregnant?" Johanna snorts

"Yes" she nods "I think that he was more excited about it than I was!"

"God" I shake my head, grinning "I think that he's turning into a big girls blouse! I'll go get him for you, Effie."

I found Haymitch sitting right at the back, on the last row of chairs, watching as the finishing touches were being made to the wedding arch. He looked dashing of course, in his new suit that matched Gales; his hair looked shiny and I wondered if he'd let Effie use some of the Capitol enhanced products on it. "What are you doing walking around, Sweetheart?" He asked as I waddled up to him, sliding over so that I could sit down. "Can you even see your toes?"

"I'm a planet, I get it" I roll my eyes, ignoring another twinge "but my mother hasn't expressly forbidden exercise, in fact, she's encouraged it."

"I wasn't insulting you" he sighs, tilting his head to get a better look at me "are you ok? You look funny."

"Johanna was just telling me how you sobbed like a baby when she asked you to walk her down the aisle" I tell him.

Haymitch just chuckles "you have to remember, Sweetheart, that Johanna is the closest thing I have to a daughter…well…until Aria finally joins us; being asked was an honour."

"I wasn't insulting you" I repeat his words "I thought it was sweet."

"Didn't think I'd ever see that day that you refer to me as ' _sweet_ '" he snorts.

"Well the rebellion changed us all."

"Motherhood has made you soft, Katniss; are you sure you're alright?" He asks again when I couldn't contain a gasp.

"He's just moving around" I lie "feels like he's trying to break my ribs. Anyway, Haymitch, Effie wants you."

Haymitch raised his eyebrows and smiles a little "she does, does she?"

I frown "is that all you ever think about?" I shake my head "Haymitch, you're walking Johanna down the aisle, _that's_ why Effie wants you."

He checks his watch and is quiet for a moment before he smirks and mutters "still have time, could find a broom closet or something…"

I leave him muttering to himself as I notice Peeta and Finnick emerging from the newly finished bakery. "Katniss! What are you doing here?!" He exclaims, grabbing my arm and guiding me toward one of the tables on the wooden decking and sitting me down in a chair.

"I'm only pregnant, Peeta" I sigh, getting slightly sick of people getting concerned about me.

"You're five days away from your due date, Katniss" he tells me after instructing Finnick to go inside to grab me some ice water "you shouldn't be out in this heat; I can barely handle it!" Taking my hand, he kisses it before pressing his forehead to mine "I just don't want you getting heatstroke or something. Can't I be concerned about you?"

" _You_ can" I sigh "but everyone else keeps asking me the same thing. It's getting annoying."

Peeta chuckles quietly "they love you and they care about you."

"I know." I debated telling Peeta that I think that my labour had started but then I thought better of it; he wouldn't want to keep it quiet and the last thing I wanted to draw attention away from Johanna and Gale on their wedding day. It could wait an hour or so. "Where's Reed?" I ask when Finnick comes back with my water.

"Annie's using the backroom in the bakery to change him into his suit" Peeta says "I was going to do it but it took a lot longer than I thought to move the cake from the house to here, Finnick had to help me because I didn't want to risk moving it on my own and then I had to put the finishing touches on it."

"So that's why you're here?" I ask. Peeta had baked the cake back at the house because, when he'd started it, the Bakery was only half finished.

"Well, I figured that the bakery would be a better place to keep the cake since we're having the reception in the square as well."

"Smart" I nod, sipping at my water and watching as people finally began to arrive. There were only minutes left before Johanna would walk down the aisle. "We should probably go and take our seats" I say as Annie comes out with Dylan under one arm as she helped Reed onto the deck with her free hand.

"Hey big boy!" Finnick grins, plucking Dylan from his wife and holding him above his head as he pulled funny faces, making the nine month old giggle and squeal.

I smile at the two for a moment before turning my gaze onto _my_ big boy and I felt tears well up in my eyes. "Reed" I sigh, holding out my arms for him "you look so handsome!" I tell him, hauling him onto my lap "look at you in your suit!"

"Dill has one too!" He tells me "his bow is red like mine!"

"His bow tie is red too?" Peeta asks, squatting down beside me and touching his nose to Reed's, an action that always makes Reed giggle. "What colour is my bow tie? Is it green?"

"No!" Our son squeals, shaking his head "it's red! Silly daddy." Reed doesn't talk often but, when he does, he's very well spoken; I'm beginning to think that he's spending too much time around Effie.

Peeta laughs, taking Reed from me and cuddling him. I still enjoyed watching the two of them together; two sensitive souls that made it through when the odds were piled up against them. I often wonder how Peeta made it through with his sanity intact; when I ask him, he just says that it's because of me and then his eyes would smoulder into mine, leaving me feeling weak at the knees. "Come on then" he repositions Reed so that his right arm is free before helping me up and walking the three of us toward the chairs.

"Do you remember what you have to do?" I ask Reed

My little boy nods his head. "I gotta stand next to Gale with the pillow."

I smile "go on then, Sweetie." He offers me one last smile before he plods the short distance to my best friend who stoops down and picks him up.

"Gale is going to be a wonderful dad" Peeta comments.

"I have no doubts that he will be" I reply "it's Johanna I'm more interested in."

Peeta takes me hand in his again just as the music starts and the crowd stands and goes silent as Johanna emerges from the Justice Building and that's when, most inconveniently, my waters break.


	17. Chapter 17

The first thing I thought, as I felt the liquid trickle down my legs, (after ' _oh crap_ '!) was that I'm glad that the dress I'm wearing all but covers my shoes but that was when the pain began to double.

"Katniss" Peeta whispers, frowning at me, as Johanna reaches Gale and the man, who'd conducted Finnick and Annie's wedding, tells us all to take our seats "are you alright?"

"Yeah" I lie, trying hard to keep my voice steady "why?"

"You're kinda crushing my hand right now."

"Oh" I loosen my grip on his hand "it's just emotional watching my best friend get married and watching our son being part of the ceremony."

He nods, telling me that he understands, but the look on his face tells me that he doesn't entirely believe me. He didn't press it which I was glad about because I didn't want to have to lie to him any more than I needed to.

It was actually a great place to go into labour, disregarding the fact that the timing was awful, because I could cry and everyone would just think that I was finding the wedding emotional because they all were as well.

The heat and the pain soon started to become more than I could handle and so, as soon as the vows were said and we were all dismissed to begin the preparations for the reception, I was prepared to make some excuse to go home but Peeta was one step ahead of me. As soon as a crowd had gathered around the newlyweds, he grabbed my mother, Prim and Haymitch and asked them to go back to the house to help bring over some food that had apparently been left there before asking Annie to watch Reed whilst we were gone. It took me a moment to figure out what he was doing, of course, because I knew that everything had already been placed in the bakery, along with the cake. "You're a crap liar, Katniss" he tells me as we begin the walk back to our house "but, this time, I love you for it."

"What do you mean?" I ask, panting through another contraction and hoping that it was coming off as over exertion from walking.

"I know you're in labour and I know that you stayed quiet about it so not to take the attention away from Gale and Jo" he says. I groan, no longer trying to pretend that I was fine, and stop to lean on a low wall. "Cinna!" Peeta calls my old stylist over, trying to make his voice sound chirpy and normal. "Just keep walking until we round the corner" Peeta tells him as joins us.

As soon as we're out of view Cinna, who seems to have pieced everything together, picks me up with strength I didn't know he had. "Come on, girl on fire" he says "let's get you home."

"Where's the food?" Prim asks as Peeta enters my mother's house, holding the door open for Cinna.

"Sorry" he tells them "I had to lie so not to draw attention to the fact that Katniss is in labour."

The three of them don't need telling twice. They jump into action; mother and Prim grabbing towels and starting to boil water and Haymitch leading the way up the stairs to one of the spare bedrooms that had been set up as a delivery room, ready for when Effie and Johanna need it.

"When did the pains start?" Haymitch asks

"About two hours ago" I say "and my waters broke about an hour ago."

Mo's birth was harder than Reed's. I was in labour with Reed for six hours or so but Mo was in no hurry to join us. It was gone midnight, the pain was almost unbearable and he still wasn't here. Mother assured me that she wasn't worried, that some babies just take their time.

By eight the next morning I was so annoyed, so uncomfortable and so tired that even Peeta's presence was pissing me off. I'd already shouted at Haymitch, screamed at Prim and my mother, shouting abuse that I would never even think about saying in any normal circumstance. "It'll be over soon, Katniss" he tells me, trying to comfort me but I wasn't having any of it.

I slapped his hand away from me as I said "just piss off, Peeta! You're not the one trying to push out a stubborn baby!"

"Go and get some sleep, Peeta" my mother suggests "it's still going to be a little while; I'll have Prim come and get you when it's time."

"No, I'm fine" he says, not wanting to leave me.

"Just go, Peeta!" I snap at him.

He looks at me with wounded eyes before nodding. "I love you, Katniss" he tells me before kissing my cheek and leaving the room.

Great, now I felt bad.

It was lunch time before anyone bothers to come back in and check on me; I'd scared most of them away with my insults and foul mouth. I can't say that I blame them, to be honest, I'd be scared of me too. "It's almost time" Haymitch tells me warily, pulling my gown back down and injecting some morphling into my arm.

"Where does Effie think you are?" I ask him as the drugs take effect. Everybody had been under strict instruction not to say anything to anyone.

"She thinks that I'm passed out drunk in your kitchen" he scowls "Cinna went to tell her. She's not happy."

"Wasn't there any other excuse that you could have used?" I ask.

"My being drunk is the only thing that will keep her away" he sighs "she'll wait till I return home before she banishes me to the sofa for a couple of days."

I frown "I'm sorry, Haymitch." Haymitch had been doing really well; he hadn't touched a single drop of liquor since Effie moved here from the Capitol, over a year ago.

He shrugs "it's fine, once you deliver I can tell her the truth; hopefully she won't hate me too much for lying to her." He checks me again half an hour later before announcing that it's finally time to push. Prim and my mother return with Cinna and Peeta and then, after twenty more minutes, Mozart Mellark finally enters the world screaming bloody murder.

"I'm so sorry, Peeta" I tell my husband as he curls up next to me on the bed whilst I feed our new son "I was so horrible to you."

Peeta runs a gentle hand over Mo's head and stares fondly at the baby before he looks at me. "Don't be silly" he tells me softly "I was getting frustrated watching you, I can't imagine how it was for you. You don't need to apologise." Once Mo is done feeding, I pass him over to Peeta and watch as he explores our son's features with his finger. Tracing down his nose, his lips, his ears. "I forget just how small they are" he mutters, measuring the tiny foot against his smallest finger.

Someone knocks on the door and Cinna's head appears. "You have some visitors downstairs" he tells us as he slips into the room "and I wanted an excuse to say hi properly" he admits, smiling.

Cinna stays for ten minutes or so, the first person besides family and Haymitch (who delivered him) to hold our new born before leaving.

Reed had been in earlier with Prim and our mother. He was ever so gentle with Mo and it was so sweet to watch him plant a kiss on his forehead.

The visitors turned out to be Effie, Johanna, Gale, Annie and Finnick. They didn't all come in at once, which I was glad about, but I was grateful for their company and their gifts.

"You should have said something" Gale tells me as I lay against him. Peeta had gone off somewhere with Mo to give me and Gale some time to talk "You should have-"

"I wasn't going to ruin your special day, Gale" I reply wearily. "It was beautiful, by the way, the ceremony."

"Yes" he smiles "but you missed the toasting."

"I know, I'm sorry; I really wanted to be there."

He moved his arms so that they were around me, enveloping me in his warm embrace. "An eye for an eye" he mutters "I wasn't at your toasting but I went to your ceremony."

"Oh" I laughed "I didn't really think of it like that."

Gale chuckles as he sighs and says "I never want this to change. I want to stay like this with you forever, Katniss; I never want out relationship to change. You'll always be my _best_ best friend."

"You're like the annoying brother I never had" I murmur as sleep begins to take me.

"You think that, without the games, we could be more than what we were?"

"No, Gale" I say "without the games, I probably wouldn't even know you."

Gale chuckles. "I wish that I could see inside your head, Catnip" he sighs before squeezing my hand "I'd better go; you get some sleep, I'll tell Peeta to come back up."

And I do.

Mo turned out to be the baby from hell. Reed had been easy; he slept when we put him down, ate when we gave him food and he rarely ever cried. Mo, however, cried _all the time_. He refused to sleep during the night and slept on and off throughout the day and wouldn't latch on to my breast. Peeta and I were so tired that we spent most of the first few days sleep waking as we tried to juggle taking care of our new-born and paying attention to Reed.

"Why don't you try singing to him?" Peeta suggests as I sway around our bedroom with Mozart.

It was the fourth night of having almost no sleep and we were slowly going insane. "I tried that" I say, feeling a little stressed "he screamed even louder, remember?"

"What about trying him with some hot milk? Could put a drip of liquor in it and-"

"I am _not_ giving him alcohol!" I reply before staring down at my new-born's red face as he continued to scream.

"It was just a suggestion" he shrugged, rubbing his red eyes.

I sighed before sitting down on the bed. "Your diaper is clean" I tell my son "I fed you ten minutes ago and you're warm enough so what do you want?!"

"Sweetheart," both Peeta and I jumped at the voice from the doorway and turned to see Haymitch standing there in just his underwear looking just as tired as we felt.

"I'm sorry" I groan. Haymitch lives closer to us than anyone else but I'd forgotten the fact that noise really does travel around here and, seeing as it's still sweltering hot, we have the windows open as well.

"Can I try something?" He asks.

"Please" I say, all but throwing Mo at him, desperate for some kind of relief from the incessant noise.

Haymitch took the inconsolable child, walked around the room to where the rocking chair and his crib had been moved to, took the blanket from where it hung on the crib; he stripped the baby down to his diaper before wrapping the blanket around Mo, tucking it around him tightly so that only his head was showing.

Peeta and I had avoided using the blanket because it had been so hot but, as it turns out, the blanket was the solution to our problems. The moment Haymitch had finished, Mo's cries died down and he lay there, slowly falling asleep. "How-" Peeta started but stopped, lost for words.

"Some babies like to be swaddled" Haymitch tells us, gently putting Mo down into the crib "it makes them feel safe."

"Well, we know that" I say "but, because it's been so hot we didn't want to do it."

Haymitch nodded, understanding our concerns. "He'll be fine, he'll tell you if he's too hot."

"Thanks" I sigh, my eyes now so heavy that they were closing of their own accord.

"Get some sleep" he states "I'll let myself out" but I was too far gone to even say goodbye.

After that, Mo settled into his routine. He still wasn't a dream, waking up every couple of hours but it was better than screaming all night. Plus now everyone in the village was getting some sleep and we were now starting to enjoy being his parents.


	18. Chapter 18

By the time Mo was three months old, Reed's second birthday was upon us and, even though Effie and Johanna were both heavily pregnant, everyone turned up to celebrate. We debated doubling up with Annie and Finnick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary at the same time but decided that, as we hadn't been able to give him as much attention as he was used to, to celebrate the anniversary in the evening.

"Hey, Mom?" I call, letting myself into my first home in Victor's village with Reed and Mo. It had been an hour since Reed's little party at the bakery and, even though she'd been there, I'd forgotten to ask mom if she could watch the boys later.

"We're in the kitchen!" She calls back.

I hustle my boys through to the kitchen to find my mother and Prim sitting at the table grinding herbs. "Reed!" Prim grins enthusiastically, hopping down from her chair and opening her arms for Reed to jump into.

"Are you alright?" Mom asks as I hand Mo over to her.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you were able to sit with the boys tonight, whilst Peeta and I are at Finnick and Annie's?"

"Sorry, honey" she sighs "I'm busy tonight."

I frown. Busy? Doing what? My mother is never busy. "Ok" I say slowly "what have you got planned?"

She blushed as she starting faffing around with Mo's blanket. I noticed that Prim was smirking. "I can take care of them" she says.

"Thanks" I nod at my little sister before turning back to our mother. "Mom?"

"Well" she sighs "Cinna asked me if I wanted to join him for dinner; it's not a date!" She says quickly "I'm sure he's just being nice."

My frown turns into a smile as I quickly glance at Prim who's smile widened. "Mom, Cinna doesn't do things to just be nice" I tell her. "He likes you and I know damn well that you have a thing for him."

"I do _not_!" Mother spluttered, her face now like a bright glowing beacon. Then she stopped and deflated a little as she mutters "ok, maybe a little bit."

"You should go for it" I say "I always thought that Cinna would go for someone spectacular."

"But" her face fell a little "your father-"

"Wouldn't want you to be alone for the rest of your life" Prim says "we've been over this, mom."

Our mother nods before getting up and passing Mo back to me. "I knitted him and Reed a toy each" she says before disappearing from the room.

Prim and I sat in silence for a moment or two before Prim says "she was scared to tell you."

"Why?" I ask, sitting down in my mother's recently vacated chair.

"Because you're so close to him, she didn't want to steal him away from you; that as well as the dad issue. She told me that she sometimes feels as though she's disrespecting him and her marriage vows to him."

I sigh and shake my head. "I can understand that; I think I'd feel the same if I ever lost Peeta."

Prim smiles, letting Reed settle into her lap and play with her braids. "You've changed so much, Katniss; three years ago, you'd have rolled your eyes and told her that she's being silly and now-" she laughs "I love you, Katniss; it's wonderful seeing you happy."

"What about you" I ask, raising my eyes at her "I see you and Gale's brother, Rory, sneaking off into the woods sometimes."

My sister doesn't blush, like my mother had, instead she just smiles. "We don't sneak, Katniss; Rory helps me gather medicinal plants and herbs. I like him but I don't think that the feeling is mutual."

"You're beautiful, Prim" I tell her "and you're smart, head strong and dependable; why wouldn't the feeling be mutual? Have you asked him?"

"No; I was going to tell him later, when he comes over. He was going to help me grind the rest of the herbs that mother and I won't have time to finish."

"But you're still alright to look after the boys?" I check.

"Of course! He won't mind."

"I knitted a frog for Reed," Mom states as she returns "I know that he likes to go frogging with Gale and Peeta; Mo got the traditional bear." She hands me her knitted toys, stuffed with wool. "I didn't want to give it to them earlier because they're not birthday presents."

"They're amazing, mom!" I tell her. "Reed, look what Nana made for you" I hold out the frog to my oldest son who claims it and hugs it to his chest. "What do you say?"

"Thank you, Nana" he says softly.

"You are more than welcome, sweetie" mom replies, smiling.

I return to the house just as Peeta's getting back from the bakery, bearing the rest of Reed's birthday cake. "Hey, big man!" Peeta greets Reed, putting the box, containing the cake, down on the counter. He'd started calling Reed 'big man' after Mo was born. "What have you got there?" He scoops Reed up and kisses him before looking at the frog toy.

"Nana gave it to me" he says, settling his head down on Peeta's shoulder.

"Nap time" I say quietly before looking down at Mo who'd also fallen asleep "for both of them."

"Mom can't watch the boys tonight" I say, back in the kitchen and sipping at my coffee, once the boys had been put down "she's going on a date with Cinna."

Peeta choked on his coffee and ended up spraying half of it across the table. "What?" He coughed. "Your mom and Cinna?"

I nod, smiling "yeah, she was damn scared about telling me too."

"I can imagine!" He laughs before shaking his head. "Your mom and Cinna?"

"A match that wouldn't have happened without the games or the rebellion" I say, happy that my mother was finally doing something for herself.

Prim and Rory arrived later that evening, laden with herbs that needed crushing. "The boys are asleep" I say "but Mo should want his bottle in about an hour and if Reed wakes up it's probably to use the toilet. He hasn't had an accident all week so try and keep an ear out for him. Rory" I turn to Gale's younger brother "can I talk to you for a moment?"

Rory looks to Prim before nodding. I guide him out of the kitchen and into the sitting room. Rory looked like Gale when he was seventeen; it was really strange and I had to keep reminding myself who I was actually talking to. "What's up, Katniss?" He asks.

"Look" I say quietly "I don't know what Prim has said to you but if you hurt my sister I _will_ hurt you. Understood?"

Blood fills his cheeks but he doesn't look away. "Prim is an exceptional young woman" he tells me "I have no intentions of hurting her."

I smile, seeing the same look in his eye that Gale has when he talks about Johanna. "Are you in love with her?" I ask.

"I've been in love with her since she helped Gale after he got whipped" he replies "it took a while for her to notice me but now that I have her attention I'm not planning on letting her go."

"Good" I nod before ruffling his hair like I used to when he was small. "You treat my sister right, Hawthorne, or you'll have the entire population of Panem after your head." I wink at him before going back to the kitchen to get Peeta.

"What was all that about?" Peeta asks as we walk from our house toward Annie and Finnick's.

"They're teetering on the edge of admitting their feelings for each other" I tell my husband "I was just making sure that he treats her right, that's all."

"Prim and Rory?" He looks amused for a moment before he laughs "damn, everything's happening today!"

We arrive at Finnick's to find that we weren't the first two arrive but we weren't the last either. "Where's Haymitch and Effie?" Peeta asks, taking a seat beside Gale at the table.

"Effie went into labour about ten minutes ago" Annie tells us "don't worry though, we're under strict instructions to carry on without them."

"Wish it were me" Johanna grunts, rubbing her large stomach "Jade is really giving me back ache."

Gale leans over to kiss her "don't worry, Baby, I already warned Finnick and Annie that we won't be staying too late."

"Which is fine by us" Finnick states, walking into the room with Dylan tucked under his arm. "He's teething so we haven't been getting much sleep."

"So not the anniversary dinner you were expecting?" Peeta asks

Annie shrugs "we don't mind; we celebrate our marriage every day. We just thought that it would be nice to get together and celebrate it with friends."

Finnick has cooked a large smoked salmon, accompanying it with rice and white sauce with vegetable; it was beautiful.

"Did you know that Rory and Prim are almost dating?" I ask Gale, as the plates are being cleared.

" _My_ little brother, Rory?" He frowns

"Yeah."

"Well" Gale laughs "at least one of us managed to get through to one of you _but_ " he turns to smile at his wife "I'm glad that it worked out this way."

Before we all returned home, Haymitch came by to fill us in on how things were going. "It's going to be a while yet" he tells us, accepting a coffee from Finnick and chugging down. "Aria was facing the wrong way so we're trying to get her to turn around."

"Was?" Peeta asks

"Yes, she's turns halfway round, she just needs to turn a little more; I'm hoping that she does it soon because Effie is really uncomfortable with it."

"Labour is uncomfortable" I point out

"Get her to sit in a bath of warm water." Annie says, remembering what helped her when she'd been in labour. "It helped Dylan turn."

Haymitch nods, handing his empty cup back over to her "thanks" he nods "I'll suggest that. I'll check in again in the morning, sorry for the bad timing you two."

"We understand that babies have their own agenda" Annie laughs. "Now get back to Effie, Haymitch."

When we return home, I find Prim and Rory looking a little red faced as we join them in the sitting room. It didn't take a genius to work out what they'd been doing. "Good evening?" I ask them casually "manage to crush all of the herbs?"

"Almost" Prim replies, getting up "we'd better go; Effie's in labour and I promised mom that I'd help as soon as you two got back."

"Alright" I smile "thanks for watching the boys."

"No problem, Katniss. Mo's woken twice; once for a feed and another for a nappy change and Reed got up to use the toilet. I found him in there after I'd changed Mo."

I thank her again before walking the two of them out. Once the door was closed I turn to Peeta. "They were making out, weren't they?" He asks before I could even open my mouth.

"Looked like it" I laugh before kissing him and saying "now, Peeta Mellark, I know that Effie's in labour but don't be getting any ideas; I want a nice long break before we even talk about having more children."

Peeta frowns "what made you say that?"

"When Dylan was born you went all gooey over him and that's how Mo happened."

"So not true!" He laughs "you were pregnant with Mo _before_ Dylan was born and anyway, you got all broody as well. Now come on, Mrs Mellark, I'm tired; let's get to bed."


	19. Chapter 19

It was raining and I was soaked to the point where it felt like I would never be dry again but that wasn't what I was thinking about; I was starving. I was skin and bone and I was so weak from hunger that I could barely move.

That's when Peeta tossed me the bread and, as I reached out for it, the entire scene changed and I was back in the first arena with my arrow pointed at the boy who murdered Rue. His face warped into some kind of Capitol mutt and, the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by all of them. Every single person who'd ever stepped foot in an arena including every single one of my friends and family. All of them staring at me as though they hated me, my name being released from their mouths in a hiss…like those lizard mutts in the capitol…and there was no way out.

"Katniss!"

I woke up drenched in sweat, tangled in the sheets and with Peeta staring down at me; it took me a while to realise that it had only been a dream. "It's ok" he told me gently as he wrapped his arms around me "you're safe, you're safe now. It was a nightmare, Katniss, that's all it was."

I knew that it was just a nightmare…now…but I was far too wired to sleep. My hands were still shaking and the nightmare was lingering far longer than most of them did. So I left Peeta, who'd gone back to sleep as soon as I'd convinced him that I was asleep, in bed and went to check on my boys.

Reed, now four, was sprawled across his bed; his blankets on the floor and his pillows at the foot of his bed. I set everything right but left the blankets on the floor due to the heat, before going to see to Mo. My youngest, now two, was curled up in a tiny ball, his shoulder length blond hair covering his face as he slept soundly; I was glad, jealous but glad, that my boys didn't have the fears or the nightmares I have.

Creeping out of Mo's room, I head down to the kitchen where I sit at the table in the darkness, trying to gather my thoughts.

Since the end of the rebellion there's not really been any excitement around here. It's just been mundane, every day, life which, of course, I'm not complaining about but growing up with the games meant that life was never boring; there was always fear, panic, grief, loss and, more importantly, hope. I'm wired in a way that most others aren't, what with my hunting skills; I'm not the kind of person to sit around and be a housewife. I need to do something, I need to be on the go all the time; even with two young boys, that's not changed.

There still hasn't been a vote for the new leader of Panem; the last I heard, Plutarch had taken the job with a few other people beside him. Since Snow, nobody wants one person to have all of the control.

"Katniss?" I turn to see Peeta standing in the doorway wearing nothing but his prosthetic leg.

I marvel in his beauty, as I do every time I see him. I take in his chiselled face and body and, again, wonder how I ever got so lucky. "Could give a girl a heart attack, standing there like that" I say.

A small smile stretched across his lips. "Could say the same" he replies, nodding at my naked form. It had been so hot that I hadn't even realised that I'd forgotten to dress. Nakedness isn't an unusual thing in twelve but I'd become more accustomed toward it since after the games; sometimes, on a very hot evening, we draw the curtains and shed our clothes…usually when the boys are in bed. Though the boys like to strip off when they can, I'm sure that they'd become full time nudists if we'd let them.

"It's hot" I shrug.

Peeta walks over to me and sits down at the table. "Katniss, I know that something's bothering you, what is it?"

I shake my head "it's stupid."

"Is it the fact that Gale and Jo just had another baby?" I shake my head "your mom and Cinna?"

"No, Peeta; it's…life, I guess."

"What do you mean?" Life, over the past few years, in twelve, had changed quite a bit. Haymitch and Effie had another child, a boy they named Lennox, only nine months after Aria was born. Finnick and Annie welcomed a little girl they called Coral, a year ago; Gale and Johanna have just celebrated the arrival of another little girl, Saffy; Prim and Rory are now officially together and my mother and Cinna announced their engagement last night.

"It's so…boring" I admit with a sigh. "Don't get me wrong, Peeta, I love you and the boys to death and I have no interest in a repeat of the years before the rebellion but-"

"It's ok" he nods, cutting me off "I understand completely but I didn't want to mention anything just in case you didn't feel the same way or you didn't understand." He takes my hands in his and presses his face into them "I underestimated you, Katniss; I really do have to learn not to do that." We sit in silence for a while, still clutching at the other's hands before Peeta sighs "when was the last time you went hunting?"

I shake my head "months. I'm busy with the boys and Gale is always busy with Jade and Saffy…we just don't have time anymore."

"There's always time, Katniss" Peeta tells me "how about you take me out there and teach me?"

"What?" I frown, staring at him "but, Peeta, you-"

"I have much better control over my leg now" he tells me, cutting me off "and, with the kids, I've learned how to move much more quietly."

"I know that" I laugh "but, you work at the bakery now."

He shrugs "I've been teaching Finnick a lot; I'm pretty sure that he can handle things without me for a day."

Teaching Peeta how to hunt has never really come to mind before; we'd never really needed it. "Do you really want to?" I ask quietly, wanting nothing more than to share this with him.

"Katniss, I've always admired your skill with a bow; I've always been jealous of it. I'd love to be able to do it too. I've been thinking of something else too and all I ask is that you hear me out before you say anything." I nod in agreement. "They've rebuilt the hob" he says "it's not being used for anything right now and, I was thinking, that maybe in your spare time, you could train people…who are willing to learn…how to hunt, how to defend themselves, how to survive the way that we were taught in the games. Most people still don't have a lot but I'm sure that if they know _how_ to fend for themselves without money then they will be better off…like you did all those years ago." He pauses for a moment to catch his breath before adding "and I can help sometimes as well as Finnick, Annie, Haymitch and Johanna if they want."

I considered his words for moment and found myself warming to the idea. If I did this then I'd have more to do during the day and I could teach Mo and Reed as well. Of course, I was already starting on Reed but he doesn't hold much interest in hunting; he is only four but I taught him how to use a bow…only he's much like Prim was when I'd tried it with her. He's more interested in painting, like his dad. He's pretty good at it as well. Cinna's also teaching him how to play the piano, a skill I didn't know that my stylist had until he'd surprised us one day. I went to tell Peeta what I thought but he cut me off, obviously thinking that I was going to say no.

"Just take some time to think about it" he suggests with pleading eyes "you can let me know when you're ready."

Smiling, I nod. "Sure, Peeta."

"So you're going to teach me how to hunt then?" He asks "tomorrow?"

"If we can get someone to watch the boys" I reply "then I would love nothing more than to go out into the woods with you."

Peeta grins before standing and pulling me up with him. "Let's get back to bed then; I've been trying to keep myself from ravishing you for the past ten minutes."

"Will you even make it to the bed?" I ask, giggling.

The grin widens as he says "let's find out."

The weather the next morning, though still horribly hot, was tragic. It was raining buckets outside which meant that we had to put off our hunting trip. I didn't mind the rain, not really; with this heat, the crops really needed it but, also because of the heat, it meant that there was a storm coming and neither one of my boys likes thunder all that much.

"Mo" I sigh, holding up his underpants "you need to wear pants, sweetie." It had been a rough few months, teaching him to use the toilet, but he finally managed it; he still has an accident now and again but, for now, the diapers have been put away.

"Too hot!" he scowls, crossing his arms and pouting at me.

"Reed's wearing his pants" I tell him "and-" at that exact moment, I see Reed streaking down the hallway, passing the open door, in absolutely nothing with Peeta stumbling after him holding his eldest son's pants in one hand.

I sigh giving up. Having been trying to coax Mo into his pants for the last ten minutes, without much success, and then him seeing Reed without them…this wasn't a battle I was going to win. "Fine, you can walk over to Gale's naked; I don't care."

"I'm sorry" Peeta sighs as we gather at the front door "Reed just wouldn't put them on."

"Well, at least we managed to put shoes on them" I say "and their rain coats." Peeta had packed the boys clothes in a separate bag. We hoped that, in the company of our friends, they might change their minds but boy were we wrong. Both boys paraded around, completely naked, without even batting an eyelid.

At home, Peeta and I don't care whether they dress or not but we'd prefer them to be clothed around other people.

"So…is this a new kind of fashion statement or something?" Haymitch asks, cradling baby Saffy as he watches Aria trying to remove her dress but, with Effie on hand, she wasn't getting very far.

I roll my eyes "don't even ask, Haymitch" I sigh before holding my arms out for the baby. I hadn't held her yet. "Stop hogging the infant, Abernathy."

He chuckles, passing her over to me "does it make you want another one?" He asks.

"Sure" I shrug "but, Reed and Mo are a bit of a handful at the moment. Well" I laugh "not so much Reed but Mo acts like he's been raised by wolves; I swear I don't know where he gets his energy from."

"He's a lot like you, Catnip" Gale states, coming over and kissing his baby on her forehead "my mother says that you were a little tearaway when you were a child."

I smirk but shake my head "I wasn't _that_ bad and, anyway, he's rubbing off on Reed."

"I think they're both just fighting for you attention" Annie says, drifting over to us. I pass Saffy over to her "it's not uncommon for siblings to fight over the attention of their parents. Dylan acts up a lot more now that we have Coral but, of course, he can't understand that she needs a lot more care than he does. They just see it as one child is getting more attention than the other."

"Try ignoring the both of them" Haymitch suggests "when they're acting up, just ignore them and then, when they do something you want them to do then go over the top with praise."

I frown "so if Reed puts his pants on-"

"You go overboard with the praise" Haymitch nods.

"Ok; I guess it can't hurt." I excuse myself to find Johanna who was sitting in the kitchen on her own. "Too busy out there for you?" I ask, joining her at the table.

She smiles warily, nodding "yes; sorry, I do appreciate you guys coming over but I'm just so tired."

"You're not really missing much" I tell her "we're all taking turns holding Saffy, other than that we're all entertaining ourselves with chatting and whatnot."

"Good" she sighs "Katniss, did I see Mo running around naked?"

"Oh, yeah. Both of them refused to dress this morning so we marched them over here naked, hoping that they'd see you all and decide to dress."

"Let me guess" Johanna grins "didn't work?"

"Not at all."

"How did you cope with two, Katniss? Mo was a terror as a new born, wasn't he?"

I nod "he still is a little terror."

"How did you cope with it?"

"We got them into a routine. Why?"

"Saffy's fine, she sleeps well and eats when she's meant to but Jade is like a ticking time bomb; anything could set her off" she tells me "I put the cheese upside down in her sandwich and she has a tantrum, I flick the light on too loud and she has a tantrum…I'm losing it, Katniss. She's really trying my patience."

"She's jealous" I say "just try and give her as much attention as you can."

Johanna nods, grimacing a little "I guess we have been neglecting her a little since Saffy came along."

"It'll pass, Jo" I assure her, patting her hand "I'll tell Gale you're in here and then suggest we go over to mine. Let you get some sleep."

"Thanks" she smiles "don't stay away too long, ok?"

With the weather being so bad, everyone decided to just go home rather than fight the rain more than what was necessary. Peeta decided to keep the bakery closed for the day, thinking that most people probably won't bother going into town today, and got out his old paints for the boys to play with in an attempt to keep them occupied until nap time.

"Have you thought anymore about my suggestion?" He asks once the boys were asleep.

"Using the hob?"

"Yes"

"No" I reply "because, Peeta, I thought that the idea was good one when you first suggested it. I'm up for it."

The look on his face was one of pure delight. "Great!" He grins "I was hoping you'd say yes! I already started making the targets and stuff and I was talking to Finnick and Gale earlier; both of them said that they'd be happy to help."

I laugh, shaking my head "Peeta Mellark, what am I going to do with you?"

"I can think of a few things." He replies with a mischievous glint in his eye.

We end up heading out into the down pour. Making the most of the cool rain on our hot bodies; that's one of the few good things about days like today. The weather may be unbearably warm but the rain is very welcoming on your skin.

The both of us were drenched within seconds but we didn't care. I let Peeta grab me and dance manically with me just feet from our house before we fell into a giggling heap on the sodden track. It reminded me of when Peeta had slipped on that patch of ice, just before our first and only victory tour. "I do love you Katniss Mellark" he sighs, kissing me.

"And I you, Peeta Mellark" I reply, kissing him back feeling glad that, though I may be bored with my uneventful life, my feelings for Peeta grew stronger every day and I knew that I would never be bored of his kisses or his caresses; that I would never be bored of him and that I would never be bored of being his wife.


	20. Chapter 20

"Right" I said in a hushed tone, my eye on the turkey who was wandering around a few yards ahead of us "I usually aim at the head, it's a nice clean kill and not quite as messy but, as long as you hit it, I don't really care where you aim."

Peeta nods, positioning the arrow in the bow and aiming it at the turkey. We'd spent a few hours shooting trees, Peeta was a fast learner but I didn't want to try him on anything living until he hit the marker I put there for him. "I'll do my best."

"Just don't over think it."

He nods and takes another quiet step forward before he catches his foot in a hidden rabbit hold, falls over and accidentally lets go of the arrow. We both watch, Peeta still sprawled on the floor, as the arrow flies through the air and hits the turkey straight through the eye. "Well, would you look at that!" He laughs, sitting up.

"Only you, Peeta" I laugh "good shot though."

An hour later, we're sitting beside the creek that Gale and I use for fishing, his traps are still there, loaded with fish which we collect up. Peeta's started a fire and we take a couple of the fish and decide to cook them for lunch. "This is so much more fun when we're not in the games." Peeta states as he watches me gut the second fish.

I nod in agreement. "The games have taken the fun out of it a little" I sigh "it took me a while, after the first games, to get used to hunting again." I hand the second fish over to Peeta and start to sort out some of the other stuff we'd collected; we decide on eating some of the berries as a nice treat.

"How are you coping now?" He asks and I know that he's not just asking about the hunting, he's asking how I'm coping in general.

"Better" I tell him honestly "the boys distract me and _you_ distract me" I say with a smile. "I still get nightmares every now and then but I don't think that they'll ever go away completely. How about you?"

Peeta nods "it's about the same for me. The painting still helps along with you and the boys…I sold my first painting the other day, I forgot to tell you."

"People are buying your paintings?" I ask in surprise "the ones of the games?"

"Yeah; well, it wasn't really related to the games. It was one of you, your mother and Prim; Cinna bought it, figured that it would make a nice present for your mom. He said that she doesn't have that many pictures of you smiling."

I smile now as I am glad, once again, that mom and Cinna found each other. "That's nice of him" I nod.

"That's Cinna for you; he's head over heels in love with her. I bet that she could ask for the world and he'd find a way to get it for her." He pauses for a minute, staring at the cooking fish "that's how I feel about you, you know. You could ask for anything and I'd get it for you…or at last try."

"I don't want the world, Peeta" I say, climbing into his lap and kissing his cheek "I just want you; anything else you give to me is just an added bonus."

"Like the boys?" He asks, smiling

"Exactly. I love the three of you so much; I didn't know that I could ever love anyone or anything so much." I wrap my arms around his neck and we stay there for a while until footsteps alerts us to the fact that we're no longer alone.

"Alright, lovebirds" I hear a familiar voice say "hope you saved us some fish, I'm starved!"

Johanna and Gale plonk themselves down beside us, around the fire. "What are you two doing here?" I ask in surprise "shouldn't you be resting?"

"Pfft" she blew a raspberry "I've had enough rest to last me a life time."

"Haymitch and Effie are looking after the girls." Gale tells me, starting to gut two more fish. "Peeta mentioned that you two were coming out here today and Jo fancied a walk so here we are! Hope you don't mind and I hope we weren't interrupting anything."

I shake my head "of course I don't mind; hey, Peeta shot a turkey straight through the head!"

"No way!" Gale laughs, looking genuinely surprised.

"It was an accident" Peeta chuckles "I tripped and let go of the arrow."

"Hey, a kill is still a kill" Gale nudges him.

"Yep" I grin "and we have a nice fat, juice, turkey for supper tonight!"

Johanna raises her eyebrows at me "it that an open invitation?"

After we've eaten the fish, Gale and I suggest to do a bit more hunting but Peeta and Johanna decide to stay behind.

"I've done enough killing to last a life time" she states "but you guys go ahead."

"My leg aches" Peeta tells us, looking at me "I'll stay too."

I smile at him, knowing that he wasn't particularly keen on leaving Johanna by herself and he wanted to give me time alone with Gale. It doesn't take Gale and I long to get back into our old routine and we return with a couple of pheasants and a large buck.

We check the snares on our way back to the fence, collecting up a dozen or so rabbits before Gale resets them for next time.

"You know we don't have to split the entire haul" Gale tells me as I insist on sharing what we'd brought back.

I shrug "won't hurt, will it? Anyway, I'm going to give some of this to my mother and Prim."

He nods before looking at Johanna who was returning from collecting Jade and Saffy from Haymitch. "See you for supper then?"

"You're bringing the wine" I tell him with a grin.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He winks at me before running over to his girls and picking Jade up, swinging her around and making her giggle before heading home.

"Ready?" Peeta asks, walking up to me with Reed and Mo trotting alongside him. Mom and Prim had graciously offered to watch them today and it looked like they'd had fun. Both boys were covered head to toe in paint.

I nod before laughing at my boys "wow! Look at you two! Did you run out of paper?"

"Bath time, I think!" My husband grins, scooping Mo up and tickling his tummy, making him squirm.

The next day, we began preparing the hob. It was the same size as the last one but it wasn't quite as rickety; it had been built with bricks, like the houses, so it was more like a very large, one roomed, house.

"This is perfect" I say, standing in the middle and looking around. I was already making a plan of where things could go. Weapon racks along the walls, targets for knife throwing and archery along the far end wall, the climbing net, Finnick had offered to make, to the left of the doors and some other climbing apparatus opposite that. The middle of the room could be used for the practical skills, like making a fire without matches and learning the difference between edible and inedible plants, berries and leaves. If Gale's offer, to teach how to make traps and snares, still stands then I'd place him just to the right of the doors.

It would look a little like the training centre we'd been in, back in the Capitol, but not quite as hi-tech.

"What are you thinking, Katniss?" Peeta asks, his voice echoing around the empty room.

I tell him and he draws up a brief plan for me; suggesting his own ideas as well, moving things around and suggesting ideas for classes, changing them depending on the age of the people who show.

"It'll take a while to put together" I say as we walk back home "but, if we do it well, it'll work."

"With you running things I have no doubt that it will" he laughs. "I'll grab everyone together and show them our plans. I'm sure that they'll still be happy to help."

"Things getting a little mundane for them as well?"

Peeta shrugs "I just think they realise that people really do need to know these skills regardless. From what Gale said, most of twelve were defenceless and didn't know what to do or how to survive after the Capitol bombed us…we don't want another repeat." He smiles, taking my hand as we walk "I think that your mom is going to offer her services as well; setting up a class so that people can mend minor injuries themselves without having to go to her."

"That's a great idea" I say, remembering the mother's who'd go to her for a paper cut or a skinned knee.

"Things are changing, Katniss" he sighs happily "I can feel it; there's more hope, more freedom than there was before. People are happier now. It's so fascinating to watch."

"Maybe you can paint twelve, now that it's almost healed" I suggest

"I'd rather paint it how it was before" Peeta replies "I miss how it looked before; have you been in the new school recently?"

I shake my head "when were you in there?"

"I was supplying some cakes for the grand opening; it's amazing in there, Katniss. They have so much stuff that we didn't before but it feels strange…like a school they'd have in the Capitol."

"Times are changing" I say "we're no longer in the stone age, Peeta, we're finally catching up to where we should have been years ago."

Peeta nods "I know but it still feels strange; it will take a bit of getting used to I guess."

"At least our children will have a better education than we did; no more nonsense about how we owe the Capitol or about how they will have to put their names in a giant glass ball, every year, because of a failed rebellion they were never involved in."

"I thank the stars for that every day" he whispers, his face looking a little grey at the thought of it. "I'm glad you pulled out those berries, Katniss."

And, for the first time since that day, I was able to honestly say "so am I, Peeta."


	21. Chapter 21

I wake to someone tugging my arm. I turn over and find Mo standing beside the bed looking nervous about something; this, in its self, was odd. Mozart was normally a very confident child, the complete polar opposite to his older brother who prefers solitude due to his shy demeanour. "What's wrong?" I ask sleepily, pulling him into the bed with Peeta and I.

"Monster under my bed" he states "can I sleep in here?"

"Monsters?" Peeta asks, rolling over to rub his nose against the nose of his youngest son "well that won't do, will it?"

Mo shakes his head.

"Shall we go and chase the monster away?" His father asks.

" _You_ do it" Mo tells him.

Peeta sits up and climbs out of the bed. "Come on, Mo; if you show the monster that you're not scared of it then it won't come back." Peeta opens up his arms and Mo reluctantly climbs into them. When Peeta returns, he's laughing.

"What is it?" I ask

"Well, you know how the boys visit each other in the night?"

I nod; both Peeta and I are well aware of the fact that Reed slips into Mo's bedroom at night sometimes when he or Mo can't sleep. We haven't put a stop to it because Reed reads to his little brother and we think that it's quite sweet. "Yes…"

"Well, Reed must have fallen asleep and rolled under Mo's bed. The monster was Reed snoring."

"Oh!" I laugh.

We aren't disturbed again for the rest of the night but, though the boys sleep in later than normal, Peeta and I are up at the crack of dawn.

"How's the building coming along?" I ask Peeta, referring to the apparatus that was being built for the training centre.

"Finnick has almost finished the net" he nods "the targets and climbing wall are done, there's just the climbing apparatus left to finish, and the weapon racks."

"Well the weapons should be arriving sometime at the end of the week" I nod "so the racks aren't too important."

"They won't take long, a day or so at most if we all work on them."

It had taken a long time to get the weapon authorisation; in the end, after several angry phone calls, Plutarch took matters into his own hands. We got the call the other day saying that we'd finally been approved.

"Good" I nod, smiling "will be nice when everything's all finished and we can finally make a start on it."

Peeta nods in agreement just as the phone starts to ring. "Hold that thought" he tells me, getting up to answer it.

He was on the phone for a while; long enough for me to get the boys up, dressed and sat at the table for breakfast. Both Reed and Mo were happily eating eggs and toast when he finally came back in.

"Katniss, can you come out here a sec?" He asks, waiting in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Sure" I frown. "Reed, watch your brother" I instruct my eldest before following Peeta out into the hallway. "What's going on?" I ask.

"That was Plutarch" he sighs "they've finally gotten around to organising a vote for the Capitol."

My confusion deepens "but I thought they'd already decided on Paylor?"

"There still needs to be a vote, Katniss."

"Right" I nod "Ok, and what's this got to do with us?"

Peeta stares at me for a moment before shaking his head "it has been proposed that the remaining few victors return to the Capitol for the vote; they want us to meet with Paylor and the few that she'll be running against to get to know them. They then went to televise us giving our opinions on them, interviewing them and say who we're leaning towards."

"Are they so bored that they're now making political endeavours like a festive event?"

He shrugs "I don't know, Katniss, but they want us there before the end of the month and we'll be there for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Six months" Peeta sighs "give or take; it all depends on how it takes off. I have to go and discuss this with everyone else and get back to Plutarch by the end of the day. He's making it sound like we have a choice but we don't; he'll change his wording if we all agree not to go, making it mandatory."

"What about our families?" I ask "our children?"

"Married victors are allowed to bring their partners and the children are welcome to come with us but, unfortunately, your mother and Prim will have to stay here. Childcare will be provided as well as accommodation for the duration we are there. Plutarch was very thorough; telling us of how not many people will ever get this opportunity and that we should jump at the chance."

"But we can go to the Capitol whenever we like!"

"For shopping trips, yes; he says that, this way, we're able to see how the Capitol works and how people live."

I roll my eyes "we already know _how_ they live; they hoard food, though they have too much of it already, and they dress ridiculously. I don't want to go Peeta but I'd rather pretend to have a choice than be forced onto that damn train."

Peeta nods "those are my thoughts too."

"God, Peeta, Mom and Cinna are supposed to be getting married next month!"

"You could ask them to pull it forward?" He suggests "I mean, there won't really be many people to celebrate it if they don't, will there?"

"That's true" I nod. "Can you sit with the boys whilst they finish breakfast? I just need to get some air."

"Sure, hey" he grabs me before I can walk away and pulls me into his chest "it's not forever, Katniss; we'll vote for Paylor and hopefully everyone else will to. We'll be home before we know it."

"It's not the leaving that's bothering me, Peeta" I reply "I mean, it was only a few weeks ago we were saying that we were bored; this is the perfect solution even if it's just for a little while. It's the lies that are bothering me; being told that we have a choice when we obviously don't. I don't like being lied to and I don't like being forced into doing something. I also think that it'll be good for the boys, learn a little about the Capitol whilst being there."

"I know" he says "let's just embrace it as though it _was_ our decision, ok?"

I end up at my mother's house, of course I do; when I'm annoyed or upset I usually end up here, at Cinna's or Haymitch's or out in the woods. I didn't feel like trekking into the woods, I couldn't talk to Haymitch about this until Peeta has and Cinna now lives with my mom so, seeing Prim and my mom was the only option left only _they_ were out.

"Katniss?" Cinna was sitting in the study when I let myself in; it looked as though he was working on a new outfit. "What's going on?"

"Plutarch just called" I say, throwing myself down on the loveseat.

"Not good news, I assume." He sighs, moving out from the desk and coming over to sit with me; he did his usual thing of moving my legs and placing them on his knees when he'd sat down. "Want to talk about it? I am usually good a giving advice, you know; plus I'm going to be your step-"

"Don't" I stop him "I may be fine with you marrying my mother but I'll never call you dad."

For some reason this seems to offend him. "Why?"

"There are so many reasons, Cinna" I sigh "but the main one is that you've seen me naked _and_ touched my body whilst I was naked. This, of course, wouldn't matter if I'd been an infant, Cinna, but we're talking about when I was sixteen and almost fully developed."

"Those were all for professional reasons" he reminds me.

I nod "I know that but-"

Cinna laughs "it's fine, Katniss, I understand. I never actually expected you to call me dad; I was just saying that I will give you the same kind of support as a father should. I will do my utmost to help you, Katniss, regardless."

"My boys love you" I tell him "they already call you Pappy."

"I know" he grins "anyway, back to the matter at hand. What's going on?"

I explain to him the situation, just how Peeta explained it to me. He listens intently, not speaking until I'd finished. "I don't mind going, Cinna" I finish "but something about it all feels off; I don't know if it's just because we don't actually have a choice or if there's something else going on."

He nods "I see; well, all you can do is go and find out. All I can advise is that you be on guard the entire time, make sure you have some kind of defensive weapon on you and, maybe, leave the boys with me and your mother?"

"I've thought about doing that" I say "but I don't think I can bare being away from them for that long and who says they'll be safer here, in twelve, than with Peeta and I in the Capitol?"

"It's just something to think about."

"Yeah, I suppose" I say, getting up "thanks, Cinna, I should probably be getting back now. See you later?"

"Course you will, Girl on Fire; anyway, your mother and I need to pull the wedding forward so we'll be needing your advice, seeing as you're going to be her maid of honour." he stands up and hugs me before walking me to the front door.

"Maid of honour?"

He nods, grinning "and the boys are going to be page boys; I've already started making their suits."

I hug him again, tighter this time. "Maybe, in time, I'll call you dad" I tell him "I know that I love you; you treat my mother like a queen and my sister like a princess. I couldn't have wished for better for both of them."

"I'll take that as a compliment but I think that Rory and Prim are discussing moving in together-"

I gawk at him before I have to remind myself that Prim is no longer a child. She'll be eighteen soon. "That's…sudden"

"I promised I wouldn't tell you until she had a chance to talk to you first; evidently I'd forgotten that I'd promised her that."

"Don't worry" I assure him "I'll pretend to be surprised and outraged when she finally tells me and, Cinna, please don't say anything to anyone about what I told you until Peeta's told the other's" I plead.

"I promise" he winks "see you soon."

Mom and Prim appear just as I'm walking back home and Prim runs over to me. "Katniss! Do you have a minute or so later? We could have lunch together or something."

"I've always got time for you, Little Duck" I tell her "what's wrong?"

She grins at me "I'll see you later" she says before running back to mom.

"Katniss?" Peeta calls when I finally let myself back into the house.

"Yeah, it's me!" I call back, taking my shoes off.

He's still sitting at the table, with the boys, when I walk in. "I called around the others. They're all going to come round here around three, is that ok?"

"Yeah" I sigh "sooner rather than later, right?"

"Right" he smiles.

"Peeta, I was wondering if you could take the boys out of the house for lunch; Prim's coming over to talk to me about something and-"

"That's fine" he agrees immediately "I'll make a picnic and we can go frogging or something. Do you know what she wants to talk to you about?"

I nod "she doesn't know that I know but Cinna told me; she and Rory are talking about moving in together. I'm guessing that's what she wants to tell me."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"She's no longer a child" I reply "she's old enough to make her own decisions."

My husband smiles at me "that's not what I asked."

I sigh, rolling my eyes as I sit beside Mo who's drawing a picture on a sheet of paper. "I'm having to remind myself that she's no longer the twelve year old I had to leave behind. She's a woman in her own right and probably more sensible that I am."

"She's endured a lot through the years" Peeta reminds me "had to grow up quickly, just like you did."

"The games and the rebellion changed us all" I nod.

Peeta takes my hands, squeezing them; he knows just how protective I am when it comes to Prim. I did all but raise her after our father died. "I like to think that it changed us for the better" he states before letting go of my hands and saying "I'd better start making our lunches then."


	22. Chapter 22

Prim was unusually nervous as she sits at my kitchen table, playing with her food rather than eating it. "So, how's school?" I ask her.

"Interesting" she nods "the lessons are much different now, they don't focus around coal and how we owe the capitol. The exams are hard, though, but I'm coping."

Examinations were introduced after the games; instead of just having the option to become coal miners (if you lived on the seam) or help run one of the shops in town, kids could now take examinations in various subjects to gain something called a qualification. These kids could then decide to travel to a different district to learn some new skills or to the capitol to further their education. I think Prim wants to further her education and, someday, become a doctor but I know that she's not too sure right now because she's not keen on living in the Capitol. "What do you have to do?"

"Answer questions" she shrugs "I had a numerical test today and a writing test yesterday."

"How will you know how you did?"

"I'm not sure, they get sent away to be marked."

I smile at her before nodding at the sandwich she'd barely touched. "Are you not hungry? I can get you something else if you don't want that; I think there's some left-over stew in the fridge."

Prim shakes her head before taking a deep breath and saying "Katniss, I want to talk to you about something but I want you to promise that you'll hear me out before you go mad. Ok?"

"Sure" I agree, trying hard to keep the knowing smile off my face.

"Well, things with Rory and I are going really well and, since he is now living with us, Cinna's house is empty and we, Rory and I, thought that we could, maybe, move in there…together."

"Ok" I say

"Together" she repeats as though I'm not understanding her words "like a couple…like you and Peeta and-"

"I'm saying _ok,_ Prim"

My little sister frowns at me for a moment, thinking, before she rolls her eyes and sighs in annoyance. "Cinna told you already, didn't he?"

"He may have mentioned something" I shrug "but, I promise, it was purely accidental."

"Well" she huffs "maybe it was better that he did; lessened the blow, you know?"

I nod "I must admit that it was a bit of a shock but, Prim, you're not a child anymore; you can look after yourself and you know what's best for you. There is _one_ thing that I'm a little concerned about though."

"What?"

"Well, aren't you hoping to continue your education in the Capitol?" She nods "well, you'll be away for three years, at the least, Prim."

"Oh, that's alright; Rory is hoping to go there to, he's very interested in computers and stuff. He's been talking to Beetee on the phone and, if I end up going to the Capitol, Beetee's offered him a job at one of the computer based buildings they have there. He'll be learning on the job so the pay won't be as good but, when we come home, Rory will be able to help twelve move forward with technology and what not."

"It looks like you've really thought this through" I tell her before narrowing my eyes at her and asking "you're not pregnant are you?"

"Katniss, no!" She laughs "Rory and I haven't explored that area of our relationship yet."

I raise my eyebrows at her "yet?"

This is when Prim knows that she should probably leave. "Well, I'm going to go, Katniss; thanks for lunch." She gets up and starts making her way toward the door.

"I'm assuming you'll be sleeping in separate beds, Prim" I tell her as I stand at the front door and watch her walk down the path. "Prim?" I call, when she didn't answer. "You'd better be sleeping in separate beds, Primrose, or I'll rip his balls off!"

Peeta chooses this moment to return with the boys. "See you later, Prim!" He calls to her retreating back.

"Have fun, Peeta!" She calls back.

He turns to me, grinning but that grin slides off his face when he sees me. "Ok, boys, why don't you go and get ready for your bath; I'll be up to run it in a minute." He waits till the boys have disappeared up the stairs before asking "what's going on and why are you threatening to rip Rory's balls off?"

That question was repeated a couple of times, by Peeta, before I answered it but when I didn't reply he gave up and went to give the boys a bath. The question didn't come up again until Haymitch and Effie turn up, the first to arrive for the meeting. "Was that you I heard earlier, Sweetheart?" Haymitch asks as they take a seat in the kitchen.

"Depends what it was you heard" Peeta laughs as he helps Mo into his backpack.

"Something about ripping someone's balls off" Haymitch replies "can I just say that, whatever he did, he doesn't deserve _that_ particular punishment."

"she was talking about Rory and he hasn't done anything" says Peeta

" _Yet_ " I mutter.

I could almost hear Peeta rolling his eyes. "He and Prim are talking about moving in together."

"Oh!" He laughs before he sobers up a little "oh, well, yes; then the threat is justifiable then. Katniss" he sighs "just give the lad a chance to use his rod before you remove the balls."

"Well, as scintillating as this conversation is, I have to go and take the boys over to my mother and Cinna." I say, not willing to discuss this particular subject with Haymitch.

"I'll have the coffee ready for when you get back" Peeta tells me giving my cheek a quick kiss before kissing the boys. "Behave, you two" he tells them "and have fun. See you later."

Prim's not in when I drop the boys off; Cinna tells me that she's over with Rory, studying for another exam. When I roll my eyes, he laughs. "Katniss, Prim is sensible and-"

"Do you even know what it is I'm mad about?" I ask, interrupting him.

"I think all of Victors village knows what you're mad about" he chuckles "Rory was over here when you shouted that you'd cut…" he looks at the boys who were still standing by my side "hey, you two, nanny made some cookies; they're in the kitchen" he tells them and they run off without needing another prompt. "The poor boy almost fainted."

I smirk "good, then he knows what's coming to him if he touches her"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Katniss, but weren't _you_ Prim's age when you found out that you were pregnant?"

"Different circumstances" I sigh "but yes. Look, Cinna" I say as I turn to leave "Prim has her entire life ahead of her, I don't want a baby to ruin her chances. Thanks for looking after the boys, see you later."

When I return to the house, everyone else has arrived. It seems that Peeta had already told them about the call so it was a good thing that the kids weren't here because Haymitch was being very vocal.

"There is no way in hell that they're dragging us back there!" Haymitch snarls. "I don't care if it's just to vote or whatever the hell it is they want from us!"

"I don't know" Johanna says, surprisingly calm "I think, like you" she nods at me; Peeta must have told them my thoughts on the matter "that something more is going on but I missed the rebellion, I'm up for going; I wouldn't mind punching a few Capitol citizens in the face…better if they're children."

"Jo-" Gale cautioned but she cut him off with a laugh

"So it's ok that they took us as children to murder other children but we can't punch _their_ children? I think they're getting off a little lightly, don't you?" She asked, her voice going up an octave.

"We don't take it out on their children" I say. "They were brought up with their customs just as we were brought up with ours. The fault is Snows and-"

"He choked to death" Johanna sighs, rolling her eyes "it's hardly the send-off I'd have given him."

"And how would you have killed him?" Haymitch asks

"Dumped him into an arena" she shrugs before ginning menacingly "along with his children and their children and then I'd make him watch as _everyone_ he _ever_ loved gets killed right before his eyes; he's see their faces in the sky and know that their death was his fault!" She was breathing heavily now, her chest heaving up and down. The look on her face was actually beginning to scare me. "But that's just me" she finishes as though she'd just told us how to bake a perfect cake.

"Well…okay then" Peeta says, steering the conversation _away_ from Johanna "we'll just leave you with that thought and move on to…" he looks around the room and focuses on Finnick and Annie who's sitting on her husband's lap, watching the conversation "Annie, Fin, how about you two? What do you think?"

"If we have to go then we have to go" Finnick shrugs "but I'm not letting my family out of my sight; the Capitol can screw their nurseries and their nannies, the children are going to be staying with us. _That_ is our only condition." Annie nods her head in agreement.

"I'd like to second that" Gale shoves his hand in the air.

"And us" agrees Haymitch

Peeta looks to me and I smile back, nodding "then it's settled then. I'll let Plutarch know what we've decided and Gale?"

"Yeah, mate?"

"You might want to collar and board your wife when we get there."

"Maybe get Finnick to teach you how to make a noose knot" I nod "keep her in line."

Gale laughs and nods as he says "you guys might be my best friends but I will punch you in the mouth if you carry on" a smile stretched across his lips the entire time.

Johanna laughs again as she ruffles Gales hair before kissing him in a way that I would never deem appropriate in public. "Let's get home" she tells him quietly "the girls shouldn't wake up for another hour yet."

Gale frowns as he tries to figure out where she was going with this; I actually think that the rest of the world caught on _before_ Gale. "Oh" his eyes light up a little " _oh_ " he then stands up and takes her hand. "See you guys, let us know what Plutarch says, Peeta" and then they were gone.

"Well, I hope they made it to their house" Haymitch sighs "don't particularly want to be stepping over them on the way back to ours."

Peeta laughs "do you guys want to stay for coffee?"

"Nah, we've got to get back" Haymitch says "Effie doesn't like leaving the kids for too long."

"And too right" she frowns.

"Us too" Annie tells us, getting up and giving me a hug.

"Well, I'll call round later with Plutarch's answer" Peeta tells them.

"Much appreciated, Peeta" Finnick states, slapping my husband on the back "see you guys later."

We wave the four of them off and wait on the stoop for a moment or two. "Well, it looks like Jo and Gale _did_ make it home" Peeta states. "Do you think that we have time to-"

"Hell yes" I say, grabbing him and all but dragging him up the stairs.

"I wish that we could do this more often" Peeta sighs as he traces his finger up and down my body.

"We do it often enough" I reply, shuddering a little at his touch.

"Yes but not like that."

I knew what he was referring to; with the boys in the house, we have to wait until they're asleep and we have to be quiet which makes the both of us a little more reserved. It's almost a completely new experience when we get to do it in an empty house. "Sorry" I sigh, kissing him before sitting up "that's our lot for today, I'm afraid; I have to get the boys."

Peeta nods "I guess I'll get dinner on and then make that call."

"Stand your ground, Peeta" I tell him as I find my clothes "don't let him bully you; he can be quite forceful sometimes."

"Don't worry, I'm very protective of you and our children; I won't be backing down."

When Cinna opens the front door, I'm surprised to find him topless with his shirt tied around his head, like some kind of bandanna, and a red handprint over his eye accompanied by two symmetrical lines on each cheek; the house, behind him, was in mayhem. The boys were running around, in the same state of dress, making a sort of battle cry. "Katniss!" Cinna chuckles "great timing!"

"What's going on?" I ask, stepping into the house.

"We're injuns, momma!" Mo shouts as he flings himself off the fourth step, trusting me to catch him. I do but it was a very close call.

"Injuns?" I look to Cinna.

"Indians" he corrects quietly "they found one of my story books."

I place Mo back on the floor where he starts chasing his brother, yelling loudly. "Well, thanks for keeping them occupied; they should sleep well tonight."

"You are very welcome; your mother says hello and sorry that she couldn't see you. She's not feeling great"

"Oh, what's wrong?"

"Just a headache but, with the boys here, she thought it best that she went somewhere quiet so she's in bed."

"Ok, well, let me know if it gets worse" I tell him before calling Mo and Reed over to me and asking them to put their shoes and clothes back on.

"The paint will come off" Cinna assures me as the boys hug him goodbye.

"I had no doubt that it would" I grin, the last to hug him before heading back home.

After dinner, Peeta carried on playing 'Injuns' with the boys for a while before settling them down with the story book I'd borrowed from Cinna. We decided to wait until they'd gone to bed to discuss the phone call he'd had with Plutarch but he hadn't given any kind of hint as to how the conversation went. "He didn't like it very much" he tells me "complained that it would be distracting and that they'd get in the way but he very reluctantly agreed after I reminded him the debt we're owed by the Capitol and that, in actual fact, this wasn't a massive favour in comparison to what we could be asking for."

"Bet he didn't like that very much" I grin.

Peeta grins back "it took him a while to form a coherent sentence and he's hopping mad but he'll get over it." He then stares at me for a moment before nodding to himself. "Katniss, when we're in the Capitol, we stay together. It's like you said, we don't know if they have an ulterior motive to sending us there but, together, we can protect each other. If we go out alone we'll be like sitting ducks, especially if one or both of the boys are with us."

"You're preaching to the choir, Peeta" I say "I promise that I won't leave your side."

Happy with my reply, he gets up "well, I'd better go and let everyone else know and _then_ , Mrs Mellark, it's bath time."


	23. Chapter 23

**So I've just received a complaint because Mo used the word 'Injuns' when he, Reed and Cinna were playing Indians (because of the story he'd read to them). I was asked to revise the chapter because of it or they'll report the story and my reply was that, unless I get any more complaints, the chapter is staying is it is so now is the time to come forward. If anyone finds that word and the way that I used it offensive then let me know and I'll happily change it.**

 **I would also like to express that I'm not racist and the reason I'm not changing it right now is because I think that the complainant is being picky for the sake of being picky. Plus, there are stories out there that have intended racism in them. So...yeah.**

 **I'm annoyed. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! (Short one to fill the time since I haven't been able to upload as much since I went back to work)**

It was a beautiful day; not too hot and not too cold and my boys were dressed in elegant black suits, custom made by Cinna.

I watched as he finished dressing them; placing tall black hats on their heads, clipping deep purple ties to the collar of their white shirts and tucking purple handkerchiefs into their suit pockets. "And we're finished" he mutters, stepping back to marvel at his handiwork just as Mo decides to start picking his nose.

My eyes filled with tears; of course I'd seen Reed dressed like this before, for Gale and Johanna's wedding, but seeing the both of them together- "They're perfect, Cinna" I sniff.

He chuckles before looking at me "so are you." He'd made a dress for me, purple to match the boys ties, and it was beautiful; though I'd expect nothing less from Cinna. He'd also done my makeup; it wasn't as extravagant than what had been done in the capitol but it still made me look different.

"So, do I look handsome or what?" Peeta asks as he walks into our bedroom; he was dressed the same way as the boys.

"You _always_ look handsome" I say, walking over to him and straightening his tie. "Look at our boys, Peeta"

Peeta looks down at his sons and I see his face soften from that crooked grin, the one he always reserves for me; it was like his face was melting like butter. "Look at you two" he sighs, crouching down to see them better "do you two know how smart you look?"

"Look like you, daddy" Reed tells him.

"Injuns!" Mo yells, making us jump.

"You'd better go and get ready" I tell Cinna "see you in an hour." I walk him to the front door before heading over to my mother's house.

Before the rebellion and both of my games it's not exactly a secret that I had much respect for my mother; I'd felt as though she'd abandoned us and it took me a while to accept the fact that it hadn't been her fault. After my first games, I made more of an effort with her and, eventually, it became natural and I loved her as I should. However, I never thought that she would ever re-marry; the love that she and my father shared was potent and rare so, now that she was standing before me, looking like the woman I remember before the death of my father, beautiful. She was the absolute definition of perfection and it made my heart swell.

"Mom, you look radiant" I tell her "honestly."

Her smile stretches from ear to ear as she carefully embraces me, trying not to smudge the new face Effie had worked so hard on. "Thank you, Katniss; that means a lot, coming from you."

I shake my head "you have my absolute blessing; there is no doubt in my mind that Cinna can help pick up the pieces you thought were once lost." I say, trying to assure her that I wasn't hiding any grudges against either her or Cinna for marrying because, truly, I didn't.

"I never thought-" she sighs "I never thought that I would ever feel happy again, let alone fall in love and then he walks into our lives and-"

"I love him too, Mom; Cinna and I…well, he was my first friend in the Capitol. He always knew what to say to me."

My mother nods "he says that about you as well; it's a very special bond you have with him, Katniss, that's half the reason why I was unsure of this union. I really didn't want to take him away from you."

I embrace her again "I don't feel as though you are" I tell her "I just want you to be happy and, with him, I know that you are because I can see it." When I release her, I take her hands. "Mom" I sigh "I know that I haven't exactly been fair to you; after dad died-"

"Katniss" she stops me but I am persistent.

" _No_ , mom, let me do this." I start again "after dad died, both Prim and I were so young; I felt abandoned. Not only had I lost my father but my mother too and it was up to me to keep us all from starving. I never told you this but Peeta saved our lives; that bread I came home with, well, he gave it to us. Anyways" I shake my head, trying to get back to what I was trying so say "back then, I didn't understand how you could leave us but now that I know better…I just want to apologise. I am really sorry for the grief I gave you for all those years."

"No, Katniss" but she's smiling "you have no reason to apologise; no more reason than I do. I _am_ sorry that I was unable to care for you when you, both of you, needed me the most but you stopped being a child the moment I stopped being your parent. You grew up too fast to care for Prim, you no longer needed me. I hold no resentment towards you for your behaviour; your love for Prim saved us all. How could I ever resent your for that?" She places both hands on my cheeks "I love you more than you will ever know, honey, and I am so proud of you." Mom pauses for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Katniss, I didn't want to ask you before now because I didn't want you to feel obliged but I would really like it if you would give me away today."

Involuntary tears fill my eyes and, before I know it, I'm sobbing into my mother's shoulder. It takes me a while to be able to form a coherent 'yes' but I finally manage it and we end up sobbing into each other's shoulders.

Effie walks in on us ten minutes later, sighs heavily and mutters something about her hard work being ruined before she leads my mother back upstairs…probably to reapply her makeup. "Go home, Katniss;" she calls to me from the landing "I'll be over soon to do _your_ makeup."

Peeta's face was a picture of confusion when I finally return and sink down in a chair at the kitchen table. "What's wrong?" He asks, rushing over to me "did you fight with your mother?"

I shake my head "no, she asked me to give her away today." I stare at him for a moment before my vision blurs with more tears.

I hear him laugh before I'm pulled into his chest "what am I going to do with you, Katniss?" He asks.

The ceremony was beautiful; Cinna looked remarkable in his suit but not as much as my mother in her dress. I managed to walk down the aisle, with my mother, without shedding a tear but when it was time to place her hand atop Cinna's and announce that I was giving her to away, I could barely speak and spent the next half hour, sat beside my husband, drowning in silent tears.

And, the next day, we were on the train leaving district twelve.

It was a last minute decision, to leave the boys behind; Peeta and I had discussed it at length and thought that they'd be better off staying. I trusted my mother and Cinna with my life so I knew that they would do what they could to protect them.

I missed them already.

Gale and Effie had also opted to stay behind with their children, Gale also taking care of Annie and Finnick's two. "If they're hauling to the capitol under false pretences" Finnick had said "I don't want to be taking my children; it would be like those kids in front of the mansion, before the bombs went off."

We all agreed with this because, as much as we didn't want to leave them behind, we didn't want them to be a part of this, if it was a, trap.


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry for that brief intermission; I have returned.**

 **Did you miss me? (Shout out to any BBC Sherlock fans out there)**

"It feels strange being back here, don't you think?" I ask as I sit at the table with Peeta, Effie and Haymitch. Annie and Finnick had retired to the back compartment of the train and Johanna had gone to bed, mumbling something about not being able to handle another trip like this.

We were all better dressed than we had been on the way to the games; even Effie had changed. She'd stopped wearing her ridiculous wigs, the ones that were so popular in the capitol, and had let her real hair grow out. It took a while to get used to it but her mousey brown hair looks so much nicer than those silly wigs.

"It sure as hell makes me want to drink" Haymitch nods, eying the space where the liquor cart used to be; I have a feeling that Effie moved it. Effie had decided, right at the last minute, that she'd come and leave the kids with Gale's mother; I think that she was worried that Haymitch might start drinking again if she wasn't there to watch him; of course, she said that she wanted to be there because she missed her wigs and wanted to buy more but we all knew, including Haymitch, that she still had a box full of them in the attic of their house.

Effie shakes her head "I just can't believe that you two defied all the odds and survived not one but _two_ games." She looks at Peeta and I as though she loved us like her own "when I heard President Snow read out the card…my heart dropped and that-" she took a deep breath as the memory threatened to drown her "that was when the games stopped being a form of entertainment for me. I look back on it now and feel sick at the fact that I used to _enjoy_ them."

She presses a hand to her mouth as though she really was trying not to be sick but Haymitch jumps in to comfort her. "Don't worry, Sweetheart, you didn't know any better." He says but I'm not sure that this does much of a job for her guilt.

"Honestly, Effie" I lean forward and take the hand that's on the table "Peeta and I don't hold anything against you."

Peeta nods "we don't; it's your present opinions that matter to us now, not your past."

"Thank you" she smiles tearfully before sniffing and standing up "well, I'm going to get some sleep; the train is going to stop for fuel sometime in the morning and I'd like to stretch my legs a little. Excuse me."

Haymitch watches her leave with that same crooked grin on his face he only ever reserved for Effie. "Effie is an amazing woman" he sighs "I love everything about her but I will never get over the fact that she can lure me to bed just by swinging her hips." He chuckles to himself before saluting us and following his wife to bed.

"He's like a teenager" I roll my eyes but smile at my husband "but I'm glad that he's happy. Are you wanting to go to bed any time soon?"

He shakes his head "no. I'm still trying to remind myself why we're on this train."

I nod in understanding. I'd been on this train before, when Effie dragged me and Johanna to the Capitol to do some shopping but it felt different and I was struggling to remind myself that we weren't on our way to face death again…or maybe we were; either way, I was getting some very vivid flashbacks. "Me too" I say.

We sit in silence for a little bit, buried in our own thoughts, before Peeta breaks the silence. "Katniss, I've been thinking-"

"Peeta, what have I told you about doing that?" I ask in jest "bad things happen when you use your brain."

He grins at me, showing me that he understands the joke, before continuing "when we get back to twelve, what would you say about trying for another baby? I'd…" he pauses, shifting a little where he was sat "I'd really like a girl."

"You can't pick and choose what it'll be" I remind him "they come out as they are."

"Well I know that" he tells me, rolling his eyes "but there's no harm in trying, is there?"

"None at all" I smile in agreement; I'd been thinking about this for a while, actually. A little girl would really be a blessing in a houseful of boys and I know that Peeta would absolutely dote on her.

"So you're saying yes?" He asks in surprise "no fight?"

"Peeta" I sigh "I don't know why you think I'm always going to fight you when it comes to having more children."

"You used to be so against having them."

" _used_ being the operative word" I say "when the games were still a yearly occurrence, yes, I was against having children but now not so much but I do want to wait until Mo's out of diapers." Our youngest son is fighting potty training right now, Reed was so much easier, but Mo doesn't seem to mind sitting in his own excrement. No matter how hard we try, he just doesn't seem to want to co-operate. Hopefully my mother will have some kind of magic influence on him so that, by the time we return, he'll finally be completely dry.

Peeta nods "boy or girl, Katniss, I will love them all the same."

Instead of having my usual nightmares of the games or of Capitol produced Mutts, the ones I'd expect to have on a train to the Capitol, I dream of my sons but they look older, school age; with them is a tiny girl of maybe two or three, and they're playing with her, teasing her but they're not being cruel. Peeta and I are watching them from the front steps of our home; I turn to look at him, noting that he's watching the three, ready to jump in at any second if they start getting too rough but I know my boys and I know that, with this child, they would be careful.

It was curious watching them; yes, they were playing with her but they were doing it in a way that showed how protective they were of her. They stopped teasing her before she could get frustrated and start crying and they never shoved her hard enough so that she'd fall but it didn't make sense. Why were they being this careful over this child? Who was she to them?

My question was answered the moment the little girl turned around and grinned at Peeta and I. She had her father's beautiful blue eyes and light coloured hair which is tied in a small braid and her mother's olive skin and tough demeanour. She was ours, she was the daughter both Peeta and I dreamed of having and it made me want her just that much more.

Johanna was already in the dining car when Peeta and I made our way in for breakfast; she looked a little odd and she definitely hadn't slept. "My fifth cup of coffee" she comments, staring at us.

"Didn't you sleep at all?" Asks Peeta.

She shrugs "maybe, it's hard to differentiate between dreams and reality when I'm on this damn train." And then she mutters something that sounds like "I wish Gale had come with us."

I understood, of course I did; I know that, without Peeta here, I would feel exactly the same. It showed me just how much Gale had helped her over the past few years but I didn't know what to say to her. "It'll be ok" Peeta says to her "we'll be off it soon enough and in the Capitol."

"Like that's any better" she mumbles.

"At least we'll be able to see what's actually going on" I say, helping myself to some toast just as Effie and Haymitch roll in looking very rested.

"What's on the menu then?" Haymitch asks before spotting a platter of scrambled eggs "ooh, eggs!" He states, helping himself to a serving that was big enough to serve four people.

Effie frowns at her husband before sitting down beside him and pouring herself a cup of tea. "How are you two this morning?" She asks us "you were up rather late."

"We're fine" Peeta nods "Johanna didn't sleep though."

Johanna glares at Peeta as though he's just revealed an embarrassing secret before draining the rest of the coffee from her mug and getting up "no, I didn't and, on that note, I'm going to bed." Neither Peeta or I mention the fact that she was so wired on caffeine that sleep would probably evade her for a good few hours.

"I'm beginning to think that Jo's return to the Capitol might be hazardous to her health" Haymitch sighs, taking a break from shovelling down eggs as he watched her leave.

"Maybe we should try and get Gale to join us?" Peeta suggests "he seems to be able to comfort her or at least know what to do and how to deal with her."

"I'll call him later" Haymitch nods "let him decide what he wants to do."

"She's the only one here who hasn't got the moral support of her partner" I say, feeling a little bad for her. "I honestly don't know how I'd be without Peeta."

Haymitch nods "Effie's keeping me sober."

" _That's_ why I came" she tells him, patting his hand before kissing him fondly "keep you out of trouble."

"What are we talking about?" Finnick asks as he and Annie walk in, hand in hand, and join us at the table.

"Johanna isn't coping very well" Peeta tells him "we were just discussing what to do."

Finnick frowns before looking to Annie; after a moment or so, she nods. I watch them curiously; it's strange to think that the two of them can communicate by just looking at each other but, at the same time, Peeta and I do the same. I guess it's just a strange thing to witness. "I'll go and see her" he states "Gale came to see us last night, because I was closer to her than most of the other's, and asked me to keep an eye out. He figured that this might happen, he actually wanted to come along but, with the kids, we told him that we'd be able to deal with it."

"And how are you going to do that?" I ask.

"Distraction" Finnick shrugs "she's very competitive, I'll suggest a card game or something."

"Well, have fun with that" I snort, knowing just how competitive Johanna could be "but I don't want to lose an eye so I'll be watching…from the last car."

About an hour or so after breakfast the train stopped to fill up for fuel which meant that we were about halfway and that we would arrive in the Capitol tomorrow evening; Peeta and I, along with Haymitch and Effie, took the opportunity to get off and grab some fresh air but they went one way whilst we went the other.

"It's funny" I say to Peeta as we choose a grassy spot and sit down in the sun "before the games, the first one we were in, I never imagined having this kind of life for myself; I was against having children, I was angry at my mother, worried about Prim and confused over Gale…now everything is laid out for me just because of some stupid berries. A lot of people died because of what I did in that arena, Peeta" I sigh, a fact that I still struggle with.

"But a lot more people survived" he tells me "the deaths of those people were not in vain, Katniss; they didn't die for nothing because we won. There's no more Snow, no more games…we're free and that's because of you and those berries. There's no gain without loss, Baby" he states softly "things have to get worse _before_ they get better and things are _a lot_ better now." Peeta moves closer to me and uses his forefinger to tilt my head up so that I am looking at him before placing his hands on my knees. "I love you, Katniss, and, as selfish as this may be, we would not be here if it hadn't been for Snow and the games so I don't regret anything. I am sorry for the deaths and the upset that the rebellion caused but I'm not sorry about the outcome. We are now free to live our lives as we want, no more fear and no more hunger. How could I ever resent that?"

I stare at the man before me and smile; he had lost his family, he had lost more than I had and yet he was happy so how could I not be too? I still had Prim, mom and most everyone else I ever cared about; in fact, I think I came out of the rebellion better off than anyone else. "You can't" I finally say. "You always know how to make me see the good in things, Peeta; the good in myself and the good in my actions even when I look and come up empty. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

"Well, isn't that my job?" He asks "as your husband? I vaguely remember vowing to 'make Katniss open her eyes so that she doesn't wallow in self-pity.'"

"Watch it, husband" I laugh "I'm not afraid to slap you, you know."

"Ok" Peeta chuckles "just don't be surprised if I hit you back" he pauses for a moment before shaking his head. "Ah" he sighs "I could never hit you, not even as a joke; even suggesting it makes me feel bad."

"My poor besotted husband" I grin, getting up and pulling him with me. "I love you, you're a pansy but I love you. Come on, let's get back; I want to get in a nap before lunch."

Peeta nods, taking my hand, before asking "are you feeling ok?"

"I'm just tired, Peeta; stop worrying about me." I say "we went to bed late and got up early, remember? Plus, I miss the boys."

"Worrying about you is a full time occupation, Katniss" he reminds me "I can't just turn it off. Would you like me to come with you? I could do with a nap actually; we could get Haymitch to wake us before lunch and" he sighs, squeezing my hand "I miss them too but they're with your mom and Cinna; they'll be having so much fun playing with Cinna that they probably won't even miss us."

"Hey!" I nudge him "don't say that."

Peeta just laughs as we climb back onto the train. "I'll meet you in bed, I'll just go and let Haymitch know where we are."

I was more or less asleep by the time my head hit the pillow but I do remember Peeta coming in and climbing into the bed beside me. I move to let him wrap himself around me before I drift off into a deep sleep, dreaming about the daughter that could be.


End file.
